Kunoichi College
by Kashi-Cookie-Monster
Summary: It was beyond bizarre to be back at the academy again, and the reason was something even more intimidating... She was being TOLD to have sex with a teacher?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – So, I'm no longer hiding under a rock! Thank you to the people who voted on my poll, and here is the winner…**

**KUNOICHI COLLEGE!**

**I have kept the title, despite thinking that 'Bad in Bed' might be a better one. You should be aware that this fic contains teacher/student relationships, a great deal of heartbreak and some bashing of the Kakashi variety. Also, there shall be no actual sex until chapter three, unless I am bullied into doing a long second chapter. Yeah – I have this planned out! :P**

**This is not beta'd.**

**Kunoichi College – Chapter One**

"So, I never thought I'd be going to school again." Ino reiterated for the sixth or seventh time.  
Sakura rolled her eyes and stayed quiet as Ino's ramblings continued. She'd been complaining since the moment that Sakura had opened the door and yet the pink haired girl ignored it, knowing full well that Ino was as nervous as herself. She didn't quite know why, though.

"What do your gossipy girl mags say about it all?"

"Well, I've been reading up you know, 'cause although the instructors are probably going to be like, completely gross, I don't want to seem like an absolute novice, and it doesn't seem like anything beyond what we'd expect. Of course, these aren't aimed at kunoichi, they're just what civilians say about it but I think that means that for us it will be better. I just don't want to set foot in the academy ever again!"

Sakura felt a thud of air hit her and lodge inside her lungs, and tried not to let it show. She was far more afraid than she'd like, and she hadn't had the forethought that Ino had to get some of her questions properly answered beforehand. At the age of seventeen she supposed that she ought to have the answers already, and was too nervous to ask and yet she was still too shy to buy any type of material that might offer more insight.

"And what exactly were we expecting?" She asked hollowly.

"You know, slightly painful in the beginning, gets better. Don't forget contraception. Feels pleasurable, that kind of stuff."

"Right." Despite Ino's assurances she didn't feel any calmer. Probably had something to do with her blonde friend's blasé way of saying it. Before she could stop herself, the next question burst free with a flush highlighting her cheeks. "How far have you gone?"

Ino shrugged. "Well, I haven't gone all the way, obviously, but I've done some other stuff."

"Other stuff?" Sakura echoed.

"Yeah. You know, oral and stuff."

Oral? Sakura felt her throat close in a little more. Oral? Really? It seemed that everyone had a little more practice than she did. Tenten had lost her virginity a while back, and as shocking as it was to everyone who knew, so had Hinata. With her shyness and Naruto's sense of right and wrong, no one thought that they'd have sex before marriage. Of course, that was the opinion before the kunoichi had found out about their latest task, and none of them blamed her from wanting to have Naruto as her first. Kami knew she'd been chasing after him for long enough.

Sakura gulped. "Are we expected to do _that_ straight away?"

"How should I know?" Ino shrugged for the fifth time in as many minutes. "They'll probably tell us once we get there. You know, give us a kind of syllabus."

"You think? They never gave us a real kind of syllabus when we became genin."

"No, but they did up until we had proved our rank. I guess that they will at least give us a list of things that we are to learn before we get missions. You know, like the pathetic d-ranks that we used to get before we proved that we could do better."

"Huh." Sakura reached for her arm and tugged them both to a halt as the academy came into view. "What's the time? We're not early are we?"

Ino frowned. "No, the class begins in about three minutes. Surely it is better to be early than late." She winked. "Better to appear eager!"

"I just want to make sure that we go in with everyone else." Sakura mumbled. "I don't want to draw attention to us."

Ino grinned and winked. "Maybe drawing attention to ourselves could be a good thing."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty certain we don't get to pick and choose."

"Wouldn't it be good if we did though?"

"Why don't we go inside and see who they actually are before you start plotting?"

"If you want."

The two young women felt immensely brave as they walked over to the doors, forcing themselves to keep at a normal pace so as not to appear more chicken than the other. In a way it was ridiculous, they both knew, when they were well aware that they were both scared, both of them wanted to dawdle, and both of them had thought at least twice about running home to cry to mummy that everything was unfair and scary.

Sakura felt like kicking herself. If she _had_ ran to her mother earlier, at least she would have some real answers. About the course as well as sex in general; if all kunoichi went through this, then surely her mother would talk to her, regardless of the small note at the end of the missive that had told her to speak of it to no one. She'd talked to Ino and nothing had happened.

The doors to the academy were discreetly closed, making it seem all the more private to the girls, and so they relaxed as they opened the door and glanced around for any signs of life. There was a small bustle of noise coming from a classroom near to the door. Ino knocked quietly, and the two waited outside for someone to answer. They were too nervous to just walk straight in and ask.

"Iruka-sensei!" The pair gasped in surprise when his face appeared. "Do you know-"

"Don't worry, girls, you're in the right place. Come in and sit wherever you like. We are still waiting on some of the others to join us, so you may talk among yourselves until we say otherwise." He held the door open for them and the two entered slowly, the tension visibly fading as they spotted their friends.

Hinata and Tenten had arrived already and were huddled in a corner with an animated redhead with whom Sakura was not acquainted and a small blonde who looked as nervous as Sakura was feeling.

"Hey." She grinned as she took the chair next to Hinata and pulled the girl in for a hug. "How are you?"

"N-n-nervous." Hinata stuttered out, and Sakura felt a twinge of sympathy. Hinata spoke clearly most of the time; since she'd gotten together with Naruto her confidence had improved immensely. Her stutter only came back when she was extremely afraid. "I don't know what to expect." She whispered.

"It'll be fine!" The redhead chirped, and leaned over to stick her hand in Sakura's face. "I'm Claire!" She declared. "It's nice to meet you."

Supressing the urge to groan at the girl, Sakura politely took her hand and smiled. "You, too."

Thankful that she managed to get the words in before Claire began the speech that appeared to be dying to come out, Sakura turned to the mouse who sat on the other side of Hinata. "I'm Sakura."

"Akimi."

"I don't remember you from the academy." Sakura enquired. "Did you transfer?"

"No." The girl appeared very nervous. "I was too scared to start the course last year, so they gave me some extra time to think it through. Claire transferred though."

"Do you know where she's from?"

"No, but her mother is English. Hence the name."

"Ah." Sakura could feel the conversation dwindling already, not just with her but with Tenten and Ino, too. All of them were oddly thankful when another handful of girls were ushered into the room and Iruka stepped forwards to speak.

"Welcome ladies, to the beginning of your formal seduction training. While some of you may feel adept already, and others of you may feel like complete novices, here we shall be dealing with everything that you may need to know… from scratch. You may remember theory lessons from your last year here, but there is nothing to worry about if you do not. Any question that you may have will be taken seriously, and you trainers will teach you in a safe and professional manner. You- yes?" He asked, looking directly at a girl in the second row who still had her hand halfway in the air.

"Where are the instructors?" She asked, and a murmur swept through the room; she wasn't the only one wondering.

"I thought you may prefer it if we waited until you were all seated and any preliminary questions were out of the way before bringing them in. Trust me, they know the information in this talk already." He smiled. "Does anyone else have a question?"

"How long is the course?" A dark haired girl blurted out.

"We do not have a set time limit syllabus for this course, as it will progress when you are confident and ready to." A collective breath was released. "You do however have a rough guideline of three months, and progress with be checked regularly with your sensei. This is to prevent any impropriety in the training."

"I thought that the rules would different between us and a teacher now and before." The dark haired girl responded.

"The rules are different, or rather they will be once the course is complete. Once you have passed you training and moved on you will be on regular standing to any other adult shinobi, and this may include your teacher if at some point you wish it to do so. We do not, however, look on a relationship like that lightly. The rules are in place to prevent coercion or any emotional manipulations. We acknowledge that you will be spending a lot of time with your trainer in an intimate environment." He smiled again and a blush spread across his features. "You are expected to an extent to enjoy yourselves."

He appeared embarrassed by the giggle that met his remark, and cleared his throat. "Anyone else?"

"Can we meet our teachers now?"

"What are we going to learn?"

"Can we talk to our parents?"

Iruka held up a hand to halt the onslaught of questions. "You can meet your teachers in a moment. They will go over what you need to learn; and yes, this may be different with each instructor but know that they have to report their plans to the Hokage before, during and after your training. You may speak with you mothers if they are kunoichi, but if they are civilian then you are to remain silent. Regardless, you ought to not speak with brothers or fathers as most men will remain ignorant to this area of teaching. Same is to be said for male friends. Men are not informed of this unless they come to train a group containing a kunoichi, which leads me to my next point…"

Iruka clicked his fingers and with a poof several familiar faces appeared, signalling the return of Sakura's sense of dread. "You are to be taught by your genin team captain."

A gasp left Sakura and she stared at her sensei, who returned her gaze with a tilt of his head. "To make things easier for you, your mentor shall send you a message with a place and time to meet them tomorrow for training. I shall be here for the next forty five minutes in case you have any more queries, and until our next meeting- this time next week- you are dismissed."

Noise erupted, and drowned her. Movements of others were making her dizzy and when Sakura glanced away from her lively group, Kakashi was gone.

_Until tomorrow_. She thought wryly. And he'd better be on time.

"I-ah…" Hinata's stutter had returned full force.

"Oh!" Sakura gasped as Hinata's behaviour clicked. "Was Kurenai there?"

Hinata nodded. "Maybe you will still be taught by her then. Do you want to go ask Iruka-sensei?"

Hinata nodded again, and Sakura walked her to the desk, paying little attention to the exchange in front of her. Forget learning to seduce a woman… how could she ever hope to seduce Kakashi-sensei? And what was the test that they kept mentioning?

"Sensei?" She asked when Hinata finally fell silent. "What kind of test do we get at the end?"

"Well, it isn't a written one." He replied. "I'm afraid I cannot give you any more information than that however. You should try asking Hatake-san."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you sensei."

"You're welcome." He replied, just as politely and Sakura moved aside to allow another girl to step forwards.

"I think I'm just going to go home now." She said quietly to Hinata. "We could meet up tomorrow, if we have enough time before the lesson?"

Hinata nodded. "I-I'll just t-tell Ino and then I-I'll be going home too. S-see you tomorrow Sakura-chan!"

Sakura ignored the girls that she passed on the way home and found her mother waiting for her when she opened the front door.

"Hey, mum." She greeted quietly, not really paying any attention to what she was saying. How could she think of anything else now?

"Are you alright love?" Sakura's eyes flicked up to see her mum looking concerned. Why had she been waiting for her? "Your father has gone out for a while." The elder woman added, and Sakura let a small smile slip out. Somehow her mother seemed to know already.

"And why precisely has dad gone out?"

"Because I have found that we are out of shampoo and it quite simply couldn't wait." Sakura's grin widened; she'd washed her hair before she left, and she knew full well that the bottle was full.

"Riiiggghhht."

"Yes, exactly." She smiled and ushered her daughter into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on. It quickly came to boil, something that made Sakura roll her eyes and she poured it into the two mugs that already contained teabags. She placed the mug, along with milk and the sugar that neither of them used in front of Sakura and sat opposite. She slid the little bowl towards her. "I think you need it."

"You think I'm going into shock."

"You look like you are. Now tell me all about it."

"I-uh." Sakura frowned. There were too many things that had been crowding her mind on the walk to and from the academy, and now that she was alone with someone who could help she could think of none. The tea and her mother's presence was soothing, and although the fear was still lingering, the reasons for it had become far too cloudy. "Did you do this too?" She finally asked.

"Of course, dear. Most kunoichi do. And if you wish to back out, then I don't blame you."

"I don't want to." Sakura said quickly. "I'm going to do this, I just want to know more. What was your teacher like? What did he teach you?"

"My teacher was lovely. He passed away a couple of years ago, actually." She sighed. "May he rest in peace. He was lovely." She reiterated.

"You said that bit mum. How about a bit more detail?"

"Impatient aren't we? He was gentle and caring in a way that someone who'd been the same age as me likely wouldn't have been." She covered Sakura's hand with her own. "There are benefits to having a teacher as your first. I heard from my friends at the time what it had been like for them; all fumbling and pain and… _quick_ endings." She grinned, and Sakura fought down a blush. "The instructors are all told exactly how to go about it, although with their age and experience they would likely do well enough on their own merit. You don't have anything to be scared of."

"Except for the fact that I don't _know_."

"Everyone is scared at first, honey. Your teacher might be just as scared as you are. After all, your team is the first that he has passed is it not?"

"Well, yeah. But he's not going to be a virgin is he?" Sakura flushed, a deeper red than she had all evening. "I've heard… stories."

"Oh, we've all heard rumours about them all." Her mother laughed. "You should take each one with a pinch of salt dear. The point is that, he's never had to have sex with a student before, and as most kunoichi are still virgins at your age there is a high chance that he has never been with one before – it is quite probable that every woman he has ever been with had lost it when she began training."

"Great." Sakura grumbled. "So neither of us know what we're doing."

"Darling, there is nothing to be scared of. You will start lessons tomorrow I take it?"

Sakura nodded glumly.

"For me, and for everyone I knew at the time, the first real meeting got that little detail over with so that we could learn without panicking too badly to take any of the information in." She pulled out her purse and slipped some money into her daughter's hand.

"Mum?"

"Grab Ino and go shopping beforehand, if you can. There is nothing more embarrassing that your teacher seeing you in your Donald duck panties!"

"Mum, was Donald duck even around when you were my age?"

"Such cheek!" Her mother laughed. "And get a good night's rest. You don't want to get too overly emotional; the poor man won't know how to cope!"

"Thanks mum!" Sakura forced a smile and went through the motions of getting ready for bed, knowing full well that it would be a while before she got to sleep.

**Thank you for reading!**

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Thank you so much to everyone who has faved, followed and especially to those who've reviewed this fic so far! You guys rock!**

**Chapter Two**

_7:30 PM. My place._

_~ Kakashi_

Sakura sighed and fetched some water and birdseed for the pigeon that had unwittingly woken her from her rather fitful rest. Her entire body felt weighed down, sluggish and unperceptive despite the extra four hours that her clock had informed her that she had spent in bed. It had taken her far too long to drift off and she had awoken at various intervals once she had, with no memories of a dream having startled her. She just felt over emotional and restless.

Sakura cast a look towards her rumpled duvet and the pillows that had somehow made their way halfway down the bed. There was no point in trying to get some rest now, she realised. Now that she held the time and place in her hand it all seemed very _real_. Sakura sighed and made her bed quickly, resolving to have a good, long bath once she got home. It was ten o'clock, the latest time she had seen since she was last sick, but that still gave her time to get ready once she caught up with the girls.

Blearily she dressed, and stumbled down the stairs before realising that she still clutched the missive tightly in her right fist, and slipped it instead into her pocket.

"Good morning dear!" Her mum smiled brightly and gestured towards the table. "I hope you're hungry; I've cooked pancakes!"

"Thanks, mum, but I'm not." Sakura mumbled apologetically. Honestly, she already felt as if she were about to be sick and swallowing mouthfuls of syrup wasn't going to help any. "Really, I am so not hungry it is beyond belief." She added. "I'm going to go see Ino."

"Are you two alright?" Her father asked, glancing over the top of his newspaper. "What exactly is going on?"

"Nothing!" The two women replied in unison and his expression only deepened. Sakura's mother fussily slid a pile of pancakes onto her plate and nodded towards it.

"Eat." She ordered. "Trust me Sakura, you need to eat something."

"You're not dieting again are you?"

"No, dad. I haven't been dieting by starvation since I left the academy."

"Just making sure. You girls should know how bad that is for you, we've certainly told you enough."

Sakura shot him a glare. She couldn't stand pointless reiterating of information that had already been absorbed. "Even Ino doesn't do that anymore dad. You made your point _long_ ago."

"He's just worried about you darling." Her mother cut in. "Now eat your pancakes and go find Ino. Would you like tea or orange juice?"

"Orange juice, please." Sakura replied. "Thank you." She added softly as she received the glass and her parents knew that she was also apologising for her mood. She finished her breakfast without really tasting it and got up from the table with a smile.

"I'll see you later, ok." She called from the hallway and pulled a jacket on.

"Have a good day, dear." Her mother responded, and her dad gave the little half-hearted grunt that translated to 'I heard you, and now you may leave.'

"I love you!" Sakura called, pulling the door shut behind her. She suddenly felt at a loss outside of her home, faced with the world around. She had a vague recollection that she was supposed to go see Ino, and had already promised to go see Hinata and so she turned right, and walked without any attention being paid to the people and events that she passed. She felt out of sorts, as if something was wrong with the world for not changing. Somehow everything had changed drastically for her in the last fortnight, and most of the village remained oblivious. She wanted to shout and scream for the simple fact that they weren't acting as if the apocalypse were coming, but Tsunade had taught her something after all, even inadvertently, and she knew not to lose her emotions at the drop of a hat. A couple of years ago she would have, and would have done so proudly for the comments that she would have received for being alike to her mentor. Now, however, she didn't particularly want to be.

It was a timeless walk before Ino's house came into view, and Sakura fidgeted as she pressed the doorbell and waited for an answer. Inoichi opened the door, and Sakura put on her 'talking to parents' voice.

"Good morning, Yamanaka-san. Is Ino home?"

"Absolutely. Ino!" He called. "Sakura is here for you!"

Sakura and Inoichi glanced at each other and looked away; Sakura not feeling like small talk, and Inoichi easily picking up on it. They were both relieved when Ino called back down. "'Kay dad!" Followed swiftly by the sound of her feet flying down the stairs. She gave him a firm hug before turning to Sakura and calling behind her. "I'll be back soon!"

The two walked in silence until they heard the quiet thud of the door behind them, signalling that Inoichi was out of earshot. Sakura pulled her note out of pocked at turned to her friend. "What time?"

"Three o'clock." Ino sang. "Only a few hours away… how about you?"

"Seven thirty. Do you think anyone has already had their yet?"

"I shouldn't think so. I mean, it's still morning. Someone may be right now though…"

"Eww. I don't want to think of any of our classmates like that." Sakura wrinkled her nose a little as she blushed. "I mean _that_."

Ino snorted. "Are you a medic or aren't you? You should be able to talk about such things sensibly!"

Sakura laughed. "So should you! In fact, you even more so, as you have spent more time _in_ the hospital!"

"You mean how you skirted by without any of the real-life because you learned off of Tsunade."

"That was more difficult than what you did!"

Ino arched an eyebrow. "Riiiight. So it's not like you got to brush up on basics and build the blocks rather than getting chucked in the deep end?"

"Tsunade _was_ the deep end! She hits! None of the nurses training _you_ would've done that!"

"Yeah," Ino grumbled. "But I bet you learned it."

The two were still grinning as Hinata's home came into view and the girl in question waved, prompting her dark-haired companion to do so as well.

"Hi," Hinata greeted. "We were wondering if you two could get here soon. Tenten got here a couple of hours ago."

Sakura flushed lightly. "Sorry, I got up late. I couldn't sleep."

"I know the feeling." Ino agreed darkly. "What time do you two have to go?"

"I'm meeting Asuma-sensei around three-ish and Sakura's meeting is at 7:30. How about you guys?"

"I'm at three, and Tenten is at six. Guess Asuma and Kurenai would get it done at the same time."

Tenten snorted. "Get it done. Do you reckon they talk about it?"

The three looked on at her in slight horror, and she jumped to her own defence. "Hey, at least none of you have Gai-sensei."

Sakura grinned cheekily. "I thought you like the green spandex?"

"No, I just like Lee."

Ino shrugged. "Can't argue with that. So what are we going to do? Gossip about teachers for a couple of hours or find something fun to do?"

"My mum suggested we go shopping." Sakura began, and was immediately met by a squeal from her blonde buddy. "Underwear shopping." She added.

"Why?" Hinata asked softly.

"Because, in my mum's words, it would be embarrassing to have your teacher see you in Donald duck knickers."

Tenten raised her eyebrows. "You have Donald duck knickers? Tell me where I can get some!"

Sakura blushed deeply. "Not _actually_. She was just using that as an example."

"Damn." Tenten sighed. "Shall we head to the shops then?"

Ino grinned. "And here girls, I shall lead the way!"

Her enthusiasm fizzled however once they entered the store. The racks of lace and silk and cotton were not foreign to them, however the reason for the shopping trip was, to Ino and Sakura at least. Hesitantly they made their way over to the rustle through the various designs and colours at the back, where the slightly less everyday-wear items lay.

"What do you think?" Sakura asked Ino lowly, feeling somewhat as if someone were listening in, even though she knew that she was just being paranoid. Besides, what did it matter if someone was?

"I don't know…" Ino replied. "I mean, I don't even know what he'd _like_ or even if I want to wear something like that…"

"I know. What if it seems like we're trying too hard?"

Tenten giggled from where she stood next to them, perusing quite unashamedly. "Don't wear anything embarrassing! Wasn't that the point of this trip? Find something that you feel comfortable in and that doesn't belong to a little girl. Something plain'll do."

Settled slightly, the pair returned to the shelves, feeling more at ease with the idea. Sakura strayed only as far as to the lace, and searched out anything with a modest cut. To her relief there were many, and she didn't so much as glance over to the monstrosities that Tenten and Hinata were discussing as she picked out a black set that covered the essentials. Ino stood a little closer to herself.

"Found anything yet?" She asked softly, and Ino chewed her lip.

"I don't know. I mean, it seems slightly weird to dress up for him. He's with Kurenai, so he's not going to be interested in me no matter what."

Sakura shrugged. "Remember what Tenten said. You're dressing more for yourself than for him anyway, because you don't want to be embarrassed. If there isn't a problem with what you've got already, you could just stick with that rather than getting something new."

Ino kept on nibbling. "I've got plain white cotton. I think that's what he'll be expecting anyway."

Hinata smiled. "I think that's sensible, Ino."

Ino's lips turned up in response. "Are you getting anything?"

"Yep." She held up a silky garment that looked to Sakura somewhat like a tiny nighty. "So that I can stay covered as much as possible. I mean, it's not like a guy, is it?"

All three of her companions shrugged. "Honestly," Tenten replied. "I haven't the faintest. And I doubt that these two do either."

The girls pondered in silence. "Anyway!" Tenten interrupted. "What do you think of this?"

The girl held up a dark green corset with tiny black panties. "Suit him?"

Ino snickered. "You might possibly match."

"Great! Are we done in here then?"

Sakura glanced around herself unsurely for a moment and then nodded, walking calmly to the counter to pay. Really, she hadn't bought anything that she wouldn't wear normally, but her heart was pounding as she handed over her money and accepted the discreet, plain black bag that the shop placed purchases in. She felt on some level as if the woman knew why she was buying it, and had to stamp down the urge to scream or hit her.

She was quite pleased when she left without making a scene.

"Shall we grab some lunch?" Tenten eyed a dango stand across the road. "I'm getting peckish."

Ino frowned. "I'm not hungry, and it looks like you don't really want a meal anyway. Why don't you go grab your snack and then we can hang around the river for a little while before we split off again. It's already quarter to one."

"What?" Ino shrieked and Hinata squeaked.

"We've only got two hours…" Ino moaned. "Sorry, but I'm going to go home and get ready. Good luck, all of you!" She hugged them and ran, giving Sakura an urge to bolt too.

"I think I'll head home as well, sorry guys!"

"No problem," Tenten grinned. "I can always just grab some and head home. I think I could do with the chilling time."

Both turned to Hinata to bid their farewells, only to find their friend frozen.

"Hinata," Sakura asked. "Are you alright?"

"Mmhm." The girl squeaked out. "I'm fine."

"…Right. I'll talk to you soon then."

"Mmhm."

"Laters, Sak."

The walk home was just as uneventful as the walk out, however it was faster as Sakura speedily avoided anyone that she knew. With six hours to spare she let herself in and headed straight up to her bedroom to have a quick nap.

A quick nap turned into three hours and a slight panic rose when Sakura awoke to see the time. She bathed, dragging the infamous black bag into the bathroom with her and soaped herself up repeatedly, paying extra attention to certain areas to make sure that she was completely clean. She shaved her legs and underarms until she felt certain that not a trace of hair could be felt and then she washed her hair, twice.

She dried herself quickly, ordered the mess that was her hair and tugged on her new underwear only to find that she hadn't spared a thought towards what she would place over it. Well, she could hardly travel to her sensei's house naked.

"Ooh, shiiiittt…" She whimpered. Should she wear her new Jonin uniform? She'd been given the uniform although she wasn't to earn the rank until she had completed her training. Should she wear her Chunin uniform? Or should she just dress casual? She didn't want to make things worse by looking like that little girl that had fainted on the bell test, however she also ought to look as if she actually _wanted_ to learn. She needed to show that she was committed to her job.

She ended up with a black pencil skirt and a green blouse on that matched her eyes, and her strawberry tresses were pulled back with a large hairclip. She then worried that perhaps the clip wasn't a good idea; it might get in the way.

But a ninja ought to be able to work a bloody hairclip. Oh dear…

Her allotted time was up by the time that she still hadn't decided, and so the clip stayed and she jumped out of her window so as to avoid any awkward discussion with her mother or father. She wasn't sure which one of them would be worse.

She was thankful not to run into anyone during her trip, and wondered if this was the reason for the time that he had picked. Perhaps he knew that it would be easier for her to get there now? Or maybe he was sticking to being late. She was the latest time out of her group of friends.

She raised her hand to the doorknocker, only to find the door swinging open already, baring to her the maskless face of Kakashi Hatake.

**A/N –I wanted to update because you are so lovely, and the next chapter should be up soon. It shall contain a summary at the bottom for anyone who does not wish to read it. Fun fact; I was going to title this 'Bad in Bed', so just a hint. Things will not go smoothly. This is a Kakasaku story, so don't go hating on me that there will be things getting between them :P I can't stand it when a romance begins with them already together with no real problems. Gah!**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**

**R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Thank you again to everyone who had reviewed, you guys are awesome and if I owned Kakashi I would get him to give you hugs. Sadly, I don't.**

**This chapter contains content of a sexual nature *ahem* and also of the awkward nature :P The scene begins with ***sex starts here*** and ends with **end****

**There shall also be a summary at the bottom if you don't want to read it. This chapter is fairly short because that scene, and some aftermath is all that it contains. Happy reading.**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**

**Chapter Three**

"Sakura," He greeted her, his voice stiff. "Come in."

"I- your face!" Sakura began, only to be cut off tersely.

"Come inside. We can talk with the door closed."

His voice was cool and professional, the way that he only spoke in situations that were serious. His voice was that of which Konoha's enemies were afraid. Sakura, however, didn't notice, that or didn't care. Her attention remained on the revealed features of the man who was to make love to her.

There was nothing wrong with it, as far as nature was concerned. His face was a well-meaning mixture of soft and hard that blended together well to suit the man that she had come to know. The only thing that struck her notice were the three deep scars that ran to his chin from his cheek, cutting over his thin lips. Her brow furrowed a little. She'd never thought of her sensei as vain, but that was what he seemed to be. Or did he hide it because they made him recognisable? If he did, then surely he would take it off once he returned to Konoha's gates. Scars were not a problem in the village full of ninja who bore their own fair share of battle wounds. No one discriminated, in fact it was quite the opposite; a scarred ninja would show a dedication and a sacrifice to the village.

She walked a few paces in before stopping to face Kakashi. She had never been in to his home, and as far as knew neither had Naruto, and the setting suddenly felt awkward. Kakashi had closed the door behind her and was staring at her intently. Sakura simply looked back, awaiting his instruction.

"Tonight I shall not overload you with information, instead we shall just do the necessary and when you come on Thursday, at the same time if you please, we can discuss this as well as answer any questions you may have about the syllabus and such. Is that alright?"

Sakura nodded.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

He watched as she swallowed thickly and found her voice. "No. Thank you."

He pondered her a couple of seconds more before taking pity on her awkwardness and pointed behind her. "Third door on the left." And her confused expression he took pity on her and bit back a small laugh. "My bedroom." He explained.

It was a decent room that was clearly used to being disorganised, despite the 'cleaning' that had taken place. His bin was literally overflowing in its corner and clothes were hanging out of the wardrobe. Books that were not shelved were pushed into a corner with their spines facing in different directions. There were ring shaped stains from a tea or coffee mug too, but Sakura didn't notice any of this. Her eyes were drawn to the bed.

Medium sized, with creases in the duvet, and Sakura was unsure as to if she should go sit on it. Did he expect her to? Drawing a breath into her lungs, Sakura did so, perching on the edge so that she could see him.

"Would you like me to leave the room while you get undressed, or are you comfortable with me here?"

_Leave the room? Why would he leave? _Sakura frowned and realised that, obviously, she'd have to get undressed. She'd assumed that he'd have a hand in it somewhere. Apparently not.

Sakura managed a small smile and said, "I'll change in the bathroom, if that is alright?"

A curt nod. "Right next door." He gestured to his left. The petite woman nodded in return and awkwardly brushed past him. His bathroom was definitely lived in too, and Sakura spent a moment nosing through the containers placed in front of the mirror. As it turned out, Sakura found quite a few bottles and tubs of hair mousse, gel and the like.

_I knew that his hair couldn't do that by nature alone._ It was true, she realised. No one's hair could defy gravity quite that well without help.

She smirked as she undressed as she would at home, without the vaguest thought as to how she was doing it. Her clothes pooled around her on the floor, and it was as she came to dispense of her underwear that she realised that she wasn't. She wasn't at home, and this wasn't her bathroom, and the object waiting for her was going to walk and talk a lot more than her ratty old teddy bear she had named ninja-ted.

With a tense shudder of breath released, Sakura hooked her bra once again and turned to face the mirror with a critical frown. She'd hoped that by wearing _something_ rather than by being naked she may hold some semblance of a chest for a portion of the evening, but she could see now that she was wrong. Her chest was miniscule, as she'd always known, but she occasionally hoped that it looked better when the fabric of her shirt was off.

Her stomach was flat at least. But that didn't mean too much when her hips barely flared at all. Her ass was a normal size at least. Thank heavens for small mercies.

With a huff Sakura faced the mirror and fought against the atrocity that was her hair a little while before lifting the black hairbrush that sat near her, hoping that he wouldn't notice. She pulled out the strands of pink hair once she was done and dropped them into the otherwise empty bin beside the sink. Turning to face the mirror once more, she lifted first one arm and them the other over her head to see the extent of stubble; thankfully nothing had magically appeared in the short amount of time that had passed since her bath. A quick sniff, and then an examination of her legs later and she was set.

She breathed deeply, forcing her body to calm. A few more inhalations and exhalations later and she knew that it was pointless. The best she could do was stop herself from shaking.

The door was wide open when she returned, and her eyes easily found and bulged at the sight of her naked sensei. He was wearing even less than she was; there was not a scrap of cloth on him. Various scars littered his well-toned body, none of them as prominent as the ones on his face. He likely hadn't had that treated by a medic, so was it not a battle wound then? Where were they from?

Sakura cleared her throat quietly and he looked up long enough to run his eyes over her, and nod. He blew out a deep breath, and Sakura noted the cigarette that hung between the fingers of his left hand.

He took a couple more drags, his eye not leaving her and then gave another nod as he stubbed it out. One long fingered hand patted the bed, encouraging her to sit next to him.

"You're a virgin, right?"

"Yes." Sakura's voice came out a high pitched squeak, and she let out an unneeded cough. "Mmhm."

"Alright."

***Sex starts here***

With a sigh that made it seem like a chore, Kakashi placed his hands on her sides and pulled her up to the top of the bed. He made quick work of her underwear without paying any attention to her body as he passed it, and Sakura faded out to her thoughts, her lungs barely breathing at all.

Suddenly his hand touched her, probing mechanically and sliding a finger inside. He twisted it around before pulling out again with a grimace.

Why did he look like that? What was wrong with her?

She felt his lips below his ear, and then on her collarbone. He nipped lightly, and Sakura registered somewhere insignificant that it felt kind of nice. This went on for only a little longer, his mouth attaching itself to her breast and then a couple of spots on her stomach , and when he slid his finger in again he nodded, and so Sakura assumed that whatever it was he was doing had worked.

He slid in a second finger for a moment, and applied a little force when she became snug against him.

He removed himself again and his eye met hers. "This is probably going to hurt a bit."

Well, Ino had told her as much, and so she nodded ad braced herself for the intrusion.

"Stop that. The tenser you are, the worse it will hurt."

She forced herself to relax.

"Better." He lifted her hips slightly and settled himself between her legs, before straightening upwards and placing a hand on either side of her face.

A dull ache passes through her as he presses in, pushing in until he is completely submerged in her. Firm, slow pushes that make her whimper in something neither pain nor pleasure. More like an unfamiliar exertion.

His eye closes as he begins to move, the only part of him touching her being the part _inside_ her. Sakura laid her head back on the pillow, watching him. His hips were the only part of him moving. His eyes weren't roving her form, his hands weren't touching her. His lips weren't kissing her.

He hadn't kissed her at all.

Sakura felt cheapened by this as his pace quickened to something that she was far from ready for. He'd prepared her only enough to be able to penetrate her, nothing more. She was a far cry from truly aroused. She wasn't feeling loving towards, or loved by the man moving sharply on top of her, causing the sting to rise with each thrust that tugged on her entrance. Any vestige of want that he had brought forth earlier was entirely gone now.

This was ok. It wasn't good, but there was nothing unduly terrible. Her sensei kept moving.

Sakura closed her eyes and her torso turned to the side, her hands coming up to rest in the right side of her face. Her eyes slowly opened, and she felt as if she were forcing down a feeling of illness, like a travel-sick child trying their best not to vomit. The chances were, the more focused they stayed on it, the more likely they were to fail. Her eyes found the clock, showing her that it was quarter past eight. She vaguely registered that he did then, have the time when he was home. How much longer could this take?

She felt dull, faded out. She wasn't used to this. She was worn out. She was tired, and emotionally wrecked. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She was supposed to enjoy this, was she not?

It was supposed to feel _good_.

Her sensei didn't show any sign of tiring any time soon, and so Sakura's small hands curled together, her eye fluttered closed again and she did her best not to cry.

She didn't think that he'd notice anyway.

**end**

She dressed quickly, choked sobs leaving her that she tried her best to muffle. He could probably hear her, but she didn't want him to. She didn't want him to question why, and she didn't want to explain what was wrong.

She didn't even really know.

Kakashi was still in the bedroom when she opened the bathroom door and ventured outside. Thankfully, he didn't want to talk either.

Was he offering her peace? Or was he avoiding having to deal with her?

She didn't know, and she didn't want to question it.

"Thursday, Sakura." He called. She didn't reply. She knew that he would assume that she heard him.

The door closed her quietly and her eyes wandered around at the buildings and the occasional people around her. Would any of them know where she had been? What she had done? She shook her head at her musings; they were absurd. There was no way that Kakashi could tell anyone, hell _she_ wasn't supposed to talk to anyone who didn't already know. The only people who would know were the other kunoichi and the other teachers. She needed to bloody relax.

She didn't want to go home yet. She didn't want to see her mother, or anyone who knew. Her mother had described her sensei as _lovely_. Her current description of Kakashi was a far cry away from that.

She entered the park, and sat on the bench where she and Ino would sit with a picnic when they were little. She wasn't doing that now. She was older, she had less company. It was darker. She couldn't remember that last time she had felt that alone.

She tucked her legs up beneath her and wrapped her arms around herself, holding herself tight. The way, she thought bitterly, that he should have done.

She wondered if anyone ever did.

**A/N – So that was slightly morose.**

**Summary – Sakura enters his home and notices strange scars across his face. She recognises that they have not been healed, and therefore were likely not obtained in battle.**

**Things go differently from what she expects;**

**She undresses herself in Kakashi's bathroom.**

**Little foreplay occurs.**

**She is upset by the fact that he neither touches nor kisses her during intercourse (snigger – intercourse :P)**

**He avoids a talk with her afterwards, and she leaves feeling upset, but also confident that it will be better without the barrier of her virginity. **

**She sulks for a while on a park bench.**

**There should only be one more scene like this before things start actually heating up in the bedroom department. Thank you for reading.**

**R&R **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – So, some replies were sent with the account You're All So Vacant. This is because my sister was signed in to , and it didn't switch us when I clicked the reply URL from my email. **

**Very sorry if this has confused you :P**

**Thank you all so much for all the reviews, and I have tried to give you a slightly longer update! You guys are the greatest! *hands out cookies* :D**

**Chapter four**

Sakura's mind was still fuzzy as she woke, ambled to the bathroom and slowly undressed. Her whole body felt slightly sluggish, as if she hadn't quite recovered yet.

Kami, she was making such a drama. Recovered, she said, as if it had been a really strenuous, dangerous mission that left her deathly injured.

Well, those missions _were_ high paying.

She frowned as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, and slowly turned to see herself at different angles.

How had Kakashi seen her?

With one last glance, this time at her behind as she turned around, she entered the shower and pulled the see-through door shut behind her. The warm spray hit her between her shoulder blades with a pleasant thud and she let out a soft moan before sluggishly reaching for her shower gel. Her lips parted and a sheen of sweat rose in a thin layer over her skin as the water temperature clouded the door and blotted out her view of herself in the mirror.

Her body felt boneless as she lathered up the mixture.

Her breathing was getting heavier, she knew, from the heat container that she had voluntarily sealed herself in, and it was causing a rhythmic pounding in her head. This was nothing new, the way that she could feel as if she were about to pass out from the heat.

The way her hands moved, changed.

She stated on her collar bone, her head tipped back and her eyes closed. She rubbed up her neck and massaged gently with the calloused pads of her fingers before her head snapped back sharply and she sensual hands moved lower down.

She caressed her breasts, wishing it were her sensei touching her like this. She cupped them, rubbing and kneading the soap in with her palms. She pinched her nipples and arched into the spray, opening her eyes to watch the trails of water descending down.

She gasped, a sharp intake of breath that was followed by another wave of heat hitting her, and her fingers followed the paths, more firmly than she would've thought to do usually. It was true, she'd always thought of it (when she was brave enough to think of sex at all without blushing) as being better gentle, caressing. She didn't think that pawing, even her own, would ever turn her on, but she was so turned on already.

She felt a slight raw burn of soreness as she slid a finger inside of herself and tapped upwards gently. She winced, but continued, trailing her finger in and out, her breathing laboured.

Why was this? She was picturing him, even after the events of the night before she wanted him. She wanted him badly, and her body was wound up because of it. She became desperate, adding another finger in as far as she could and grinding against them with little whimpers and pictures of Kakashi groaning above her.

By the time she exited the shower, having experienced something that seemed otherworldly, pleasurable and slightly scary, she was almost looking forward to her next 'meeting' with her sensei.

Anticipation and a hint of jitteriness.

She was still feeling dully strung out and yet oddly relaxed. Relaxed enough to stand half-naked in the bathroom, staring into the space as she mused the notion. She shook her head a let out a small laugh under her breath as she finally finished tugging on her jeans and buttoned them. Her bra and top quickly followed, and she almost fell over with the lingering light-headedness as she tugged neon green knee-high socks on.

If she'd worn these to meet Kakashi, his face would have been hilarious.

Another giggle escaped as the picture of her sensei wearing a mask of the same colour slipped into her head , along with the realisation that she would have to calm down a great deal before talking to the others…

And before talking to her parents. Thankfully, as she silently slipped down the stairs, it seemed that they'd gone out. Sakura's mother had probably dragged her father shopping to give her some peace. The woman really was a life-saver.

And not only because she was a medic turned civilian doctor. She'd just saved her daughter from death by embarrassment and silliness.

Sakura took her time toasting and buttering her cinnamon bagel and making tea, and took even longer eating it until the hyper-active state that she had woken in was gone and she was left feeling peaceful with a hint of underlying issues beneath. She brushed through her hair one more time and added some lip gloss before leaving the house and placed her key under the usual flowerpot in case her parents hadn't taken theirs with them.

Ino was already sitting on her porch when Sakura arrived, waving enthusiastically before jumping to her feet and bombarding Sakura with a hug.

"Sakura!" She sang. "How are you? Tell me all the details!" She gushed. "My parents are both out so we can sit in the kitchen and chat. I've got _tons_ of junk food, and Hinata and Tenten are coming round later." She pulled a face. "With those incredibly irritating girls, but still, it'll be nice to catch up."

"Right." Sakura managed to get out. "Shall we save the details for them?" She asked quickly. "Or… chat now."

She was hoping desperately that Ino would pick the former, and likely save her having to talk at all. She didn't want to have to say anything; what if it had been different with the others? She forced herself to calm.

It would be loads better next time, she was sure. She was just tensed up, and expected something other than what it was. She had a better idea of it now.

"We can chat a bit before they get here!" Ino shrieked and pulled her into the house, dashing around madly to make hot chocolate, chatting all the while with a manic smile on her face.

"It was _amazing!_" She sighed. "I mean, I might have to try and steal him from Kurenai-sensei. Who knew that Asuma was such a fitty?"

She grinned widely and placed a large, frothy mug of chocolate in front of Sakura, complete with marshmallows, whipped cream and a flake. That brought a small smile forth from Sakura too – Ino's hot chocolate was the best.

"What? Is he a ninja that is actually muscled?" Sakura asked sarcastically with a laugh at her friend's ridiculousness.

"Not just muscled… not all ninja are fit, Sakura!" She brushed off. "No, his whole body looks great, in a meant-to-be-muscled kind of way rather than I'm-scrawny-and-have-worked-myself-half-to-death kind of way. He's completely yummy!" A wicked grin peaked through. "And he's… well proportioned!"

Oh. Right. Sakura rolled her eyes. Knowing that Ino had seen just as many penises as she had, Sakura knew that Ino really had no idea of what an average proportion would be.

Sakura was just a little glad that Kakashi wasn't any bigger. He'd certainly seemed… large. He'd felt it, too.

"I do think we need to go shopping again though." Ino started. "I mean, we need to buy in bulk. We need to get more un-embarrassing undies."

Well, she was right about that, but Sakura highly doubted that Kakashi would notice anyway. If he did though… nothing said 'I'm a child' more than her hello kitty girl boxers.

Girl boxers that were actually incredibly comfy, and she was rather fond of.

They idly chatted (thankfully about lingerie) until the other four arrived and Sakura smiled kindly at Akimi as the others began to talk.

"Any happier now?" She asked gently. "What teacher do you have?"

Akimi blushed lightly. "Yeah." She smiled shyly. "It was… nice. I have Iruka sensei," She continued. "Because my team disbanded a couple of months ago."

"That's good." Sakura replied. She was genuinely happy for the girl; she'd obviously fretted a great deal considering she'd backed out the year before. She seemed genuinely happy, as if the words were about to burst out of her mouth and so Sakura decided to help her along a bit. She affected a bit of Ino-personality and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "So… you gonna dish the dirt on dear old teacher?"

Akimi blushed, and talked for longer than Sakura would've believed possible for anyone other than Ino before they headed out again, dragging Claire and Akimi to the shop that they had visited to previous day. Sakura left with several sets this time, and without any need to visit again in a hurry. As the other girls, too, were carrying inconspicuous bags that _they_ knew held bras and panties they said their goodbyes and each headed home after a quick smoothie.

Her parents weren't home yet when she returned, something she was thankful for, and she blushed as she sat on her bed and took the tags off of each set and put them into her draw. She'd bought lacy sets of red, black and deep blue, as well as some pale coloured satin sets.

Well, they weren't cotton, and they didn't have cartoon characters on. That was good enough.

The time flew past quicker than Sakura could've expected, and Sakura was about to cook something when her parents returned home bearing take-out. She ate quietly, discussing the menial (and for Sakura's father, boring) shopping that the pair had done, and Sakura told them vaguely that she had met up with the girls.

They finished the food, and Sakura offered to do dishes, quickly working through them and heading upstairs to try and calm herself. She picked out her clothes for tomorrow in advance, both the underwear and the stuff over the top this time, and took her time placing various skin products on and brushing her teeth.

It was still long before bed, and Sakura decided to watch a movie, preferably a civilian one. She went for a tear-jerker, and found her thoughts drifting long before the film was over.

The next day she woke bright and early with the sense that something was going to happen, like a child on Christmas or their first day at the academy. The same strung-out-lack-of-sleep-excited, and stuck her tongue out and the selection screen that was still up on her DVD from the night before. Evidently, the film finished and just _waited_ for her to press play again.

Feeling lazy, and happy, she did just that. As always, she cried at the end when Allie remembered long enough for them to die together. Instead of holding it in as she would if she were watching it with someone else, she let the tears come and felt happily cried out by the time that she cleaned her face.

She decided to stay in her pyjamas until she showered, and hummed happily as she wandered downstairs to grab brunch and some snacks. She'd watch another film or two before she began to get ready, rather than faffing about for hours again and starting to panic.

Pausing for a moment, she swiped a packet of mints from the table and added them to the pile. Just in case brushing her teeth didn't work; she did currently have hold of chilli cheese and cheesy Doritos. Better safe than sorry.

Or rather- better safe than smelly.

Sakura let out a little snicker as she hurried back upstairs and clambered under her duvet. She watched two comedies and ate about one and a half times her usual calorie intake.

While sat in bed, doing nothing. She couldn't really bring herself to care, and was still feeling giggly when she showered, both hastily and thoroughly. She hummed to herself as she dried off and dressed, and messed about in front of the mirror a while, trying out different make up items with an enthusiasm she hadn't had since she was eight or nine. She was feeling happy when she stopped it a little while later and brushed her hair.

She idly worried if she'd put in too much effort, or looked like a little girl playing dress-up, but she doubted highly that Kakashi would notice either way. If he did, he wouldn't mention it.

His shirt was untucked and the buttons already undone when he answered the door, and once again his mask was off. He was wearing loose trousers without the bandages to secure them in place and a glance down told her that he was barefoot.

Clearly he hadn't bothered doing much today either.

He held the door open and stood to the side for her to enter before leading them both to sit on the sofa.

"I figured we could discuss the syllabus and such before doing anything practical today." He began. "I have written it out for you, and we can amend it if necessary."

Sakura accepted the piece of paper he passed to her, but the words just didn't focus when she attempted to read them. She skimmed it, without taking anything in, and then nodded at him, holding his gaze.

"…Any questions?" He asked, slightly unsurely.

Sakura had many questions, but they'd all flown away and she shook her head.

"All right." He cleared his throat. "Um… to the bedroom then." He mumbled. "Or the bathroom if you'd prefer to undress there."

Feeling brave, Sakura followed him into his bedroom, her eyes averted as she undressed.

They faced each other awkwardly once they were done and Kakashi began to speak again.

"As you saw on the syllabus, we need to practice with various positions before you learn how to use each to your own advantage. Do you have anything to ask about missionary?"

_Huh? Missionary? Oh, the position from last time…_ Sakura shook her head dumbly.

"Alright, then. Get on the bed and face the wall instead of me." Sakura did so, not quite sure where this was headed. She had no clue what the syllabus actually said. "Knees up Sakura, slightly higher."

She did as she was told as he pushed and pulled her into the right position and climbed onto the bed behind her. "Most women prefer missionary, but doggy is in second place," he muttered to her in his teaching voice.

She didn't reply. She didn't think he'd appreciate her shock at hearing that.

What happened last time was supposed to be the _best_? Well, it should be better without her virginity…

This time he ground himself against her from behind, and held onto her breasts while he placed a couple of kisses on her neck until he deemed that long enough.

Much the same as last time, and again he slid inside her.

Dear Kami, this was even worse.

It didn't take long for her to fall into a state of hopelessness.

There was no way that she could move. His arms caged her between his body and the wall. She couldn't touch him. She couldn't see him. She could barely feel him now that the harsh tug from last time was mostly gone. She could still feel it, and knew that she may still be sore, but she didn't acknowledge it. It did not register in her mind.

There must be something wrong with her. All of the others had enjoyed it, had they not? Even Hinata. There wasn't the barrier of her virginity any more. There was something wrong.

Should she tell Kakashi this? If there was something wrong with her then he would have noticed, right? But there was no way she could just _not like it_.

Sakura sighed and dug her nails into the pillow below her, biting her lip to keep from crying out. She didn't want to react. Although, she had _heard_ that it may hurry things along a little. She hadn't particularly cared about the conversation at the time, however the girls had been saying that some guys liked it if a woman was vocal. It would turn them on, and then she supposed they would finish quicker.

This mentality was in mind but still didn't make her dislodge her lip from her teeth. They'd also said that the guy was turned on because he thought that the girl liked it. This was _not_ the case, and she certainly didn't want him to think that.

If he noticed this wasn't right, then she wouldn't have to broach the subject.

If he noticed.

He let out a grunt above her, and Sakura felt a slight flare of _something_ hit her unwillingly. Great, she thought. She was getting a teensy jolt from the fact that he apparently _liked_ it. What about her liking it?

This position may be second best to women, but Sakura thought it was probably a first place to Kakashi, because thankfully he seemed to be done quicker. Her tolerance it seemed, had already withered though.

She waited a few moments before getting up and dressing, forcing herself to keep her composure and folding the syllabus to place it in her pocket.

"Saturday, same time." He told her, not bothering to move from the bed.

Sakura nodded and was gone, following Tuesday's footsteps and claiming her bench in the park to worry.

Clearly the virginity hadn't been the problem. Clearly it was something else, and not only something else but something that her sensei had yet pick up on. Sakura was curious about the syllabus but didn't dare to pull it from her pocket here for the irrational fear that someone might read it over her shoulder.

No, she'd think things through and try to calm down instead.

This was a good judgement, as Naruto's loud voice boomed something about Ramen, getting closer to her, after about forty-five minutes of her contemplation. She sighed; she wasn't in the mood to speak to him. And if the noise was anything to go by, he wasn't in the mood to comfort her about something that she couldn't even tell him about.

The noise grew louder and faded away.

Another hour passed.

Naruto came by again after Sakura had lost track of time, and he was much quieter. He stopped and sat on the bench next to her with nothing more than a 'hey Sakura'.

Sakura was grateful. He wasn't even forcing her to speak. She knew it couldn't last though, and it didn't. After barely three minutes had passed (she had a habit of time keeping in her head until she lost track) Naruto's voice quietly rose up.

"What's the matter with you Sak? You seem slightly off. I haven't done anything, have I?"

"No, Naruto. Not everything is about you." She snapped.

"Jeez, just asking."

"I know." Sakura replied. "I'm sorry. Something is wrong and I'm not quite sure what's wrong with it, d'you know what I mean?"

"I think so… I mean, sort of. What kind of wrong?"

Sakura sighed. "Like I expected one thing and got something else entirely."  
"Well, you wanna know what I think? I think that if this happened in a shop, you'd take the item back and return it. D'you still have your receipt? We could go return it!"

"I'm not talking about an actual item, Naruto, and all of the stalls would be long closed."

"Ichiraku's is still open! I just had ramen, wanna grab some more?"

"No, thank you Naruto. And Ichiraku's is only open because the guy runs a stall, not a shop and chooses which hours he works. Most shops are closed."

"I still say you get a refund, or the closest thing to it. You know, buyer satisfaction and all that. Pervy sage asks the readers what they want to happen in the next books, because after all, it is for them, not him. You should talk about it. If not with me, then someone you can talk to properly, y'know? Just an idea…"

Sakura looked at him, slightly shock still by his occasional words of wisdom. "Thanks Naruto," She grinned. "That's actually a good way of looking at it."

She hopped off the bench and brushed down her skirt. "I'd better get home. I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Yeah!" Naruto waved at her. "See you soon, Sakura!"

With her step slightly less weighed down, Sakura returned home and once again entered through her bedroom window, kept awake by thoughts of how on earth to broach the subject. If they fixed things on Saturday, things would be fine by the meeting on Monday morning.

And no one else would ever have to know.

**A/N – So, that should be the last awkward sex scene for a while… or perhaps even for the rest of this fic! **

**Next chapter… the solution and the meeting!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – Thank you reviewers! 3 (that was meant to be a heart, because I love you :')) **

**Chapter Five**

She hadn't bothered to get changed, and when she woke she found that she had fallen asleep on top of the duvet, immersed in her thoughts.

Her first thought upon waking was that she was cold. The second was that something was digging into her thigh. That something turned out to be her folded, and now slightly crumpled, syllabus. She could see that some parts of it were optional and that she would hand over a list of anything that she chose to opt out of to her sensei at the academy meeting on Monday.

It was difficult to choose when she didn't know what all of this really _was_. And because opting out of anything was highly discouraged. If it was crucial to a mission, or the mission went wrong, these thing may need to be done anyway.

That, or if the kunoichi couldn't get away, would be done by force.

She chomped on her pen, growling quietly when it exploded blue ink over her mouth. Maybe she should discuss it with Ino…

Sakura sighed and chucked the pen into the bin on her way to the bathroom. That could wait until Sunday. She wasn't in the mood for talking to people, especially not if Ino was surrounded by all of the others. She needed time to think.

And a lot of time to get the biro off of her before she went anywhere. There was still a slightly blue tinge by the time she finished but she had had enough of trying. She'd rubbed her face bloody raw. Glancing down at herself she realised that she was probably pretty mangy, but could always shower later. A quick glance around told her that her parents were once again out, so it didn't matter if she waited a little while before getting that damn smell of sweat and other activities off of her body.

She once again took enough food to feed a small army up to her room, and made a mental note to go shopping later. Since all three members of the Haruno household were often away, and all made money of their own, whoever felt like food, or noticed the lack of it would go shopping. Same with the bills – Sakura deciding to occasionally pay a bill when it got dropped off by the postman. She would have to pay for everything, including rent or mortgage, when she moved out, so she had no problem helping out while she was still with her parents. She was saving most of the remainder for her own place, part of the reason why her mother still gave her money for things.

The other part was that she'd never quite gotten over buying things for a small child, and wanted to do the same now. She was constantly buying things for Sakura's dad as well, and anyone else who she deemed needed something.

The woman took a real joy out of giving people things. Probably why she came home happy if she delivered a baby.

Sakura mused through the syllabus again and again, along with drafting in her mind what she could say to her sensei and found that most of the day had gone before she had really done anything.

Anything like showering and shopping. Both of her parents were out when she returned, but as she finally sat down in the lounge rather than in her bed, she spotted a note on the coffee table telling her that they would both be away – her dad for a fortnight and her mother a few days.

Sakura sighed. It was a good thing that she had gone shopping. Now, perhaps, she ought to cook something

She put on her new underwear the next day, regardless of the fact that he might not even see them. Just in case.

She then made her bed and took down the overflowing bin to change the bag – the amount of food wrappers etc. was becoming extreme, and she was ashamed to note that there was also a couple of plates.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. She still had an hour or so before she had to leave, so she might as well make her room habitable.

Particularly if they found out she had some kind of horrible incurable disease or something. Not that that was at all likely.

She went the whole hog as quickly as she could, pulling her books and DVDs off of their shelves to dust, and dragging the hoover all the way up the stairs. Once she was finished, she gave her clothes a liberal coating of her deodorant. She didn't want to turn up smelling of dust, and whatever mould was lingering under her bed.

She made a mental note to do the kitchen, and almost ran to Kakashi's. The speed was a result of her slightly excited anxiety, something that cooled the closer she got.

She could see his house, and her smile fell.

She could see his next door neighbours' cat, and it seemed to be glaring at her. She glared back, not feeling very threatening and stood outside of his door. Suddenly, Sakura was deathly afraid, and she wasn't too sure why.

She wanted to go home, but he could probably hear her heart hammering, so she might as well knock on the door. It wasn't as if he didn't know that she was there.

As usual he let her in and Kakashi asked if there was anything she wanted to question about either the syllabus or the previous 'lesson'. He'd only just began to tell her what they were going to do when Sakura broke in.

"I don't want to!" She blurted out, a flush taking over her face, and Kakashi's eye staring into it. He'd lost his lazy look. Now he just looked lost.

He cleared his throat. "Ah, shall we sit down?" He asked gruffly as he tore his gaze from hers and sat, staring down at his lap, where his hands rested on his knees. Sakura wished she knew what he was thinking. He seemed angry, but not at her. If he were angry at her she would likely know.

"Explain." He asked softly.

Sakura made a noise of questioning and Kakashi arched an eyebrow and lifted his head once more, his expression guarded once more. "Well, you can't expect me to sort anything out if you don't tell me why. Do you want to quit this course entirely, or…"

Sakura opened her mouth and closed it again. She knew that Akimi hadn't even started the course the previous year, but it hadn't occurred to her to quit. She didn't even particularly want to. She just wanted the problem to be fixed, but now that that alternative was being dangled in front of her…

She thought for a moment, until her sensei's enquiring voice broke into her thoughts. "Sakura?"

"No," She answered, her voice hoarse. "I don't want to quit. I just don't like it.

I mean, it's not-"

"No, finish what you were going to say." He pushed gently. "We aren't going to get anywhere if you don't say what you mean. What don't you like?"

"Havingsexwithyou!" She burst out in one word, her hands squeezing the material of her shorts so tightly that she could feel her nails cutting into her palms. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes when Kakashi spoke again.

"Why?" He asked.

She took another shuddery breath, and couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. This was embarrassing, humiliating. A lot more so than the act had been. She hadn't felt _humiliated_ then. She just… didn't like it.

"You don't kiss me." She broke out with a sob, her closed eyes missing Kakashi's perplexed expression. "Or touch me. Or even _talk_ to me."

"So… you'd like me to do those things?"

"Mmhm." He nodded, not that she saw.

"Why?" He asked again.

Her watery eyes opened and her mouth parted a little. He held her gaze, and the question. "I can't really do anything if I don't know _why_. I'll just make another mistake later on."

She shook in her seat and her face crumpled. She raised one hand and pointed to his crotch. "Because THAT is the only part of you involved!"

She cried openly, and Kakashi sat next to her feeling unsure. Going on instinct, he pulled her into his lap.

"You don't act like you care about me!" She whimpered.

He stroked her back and pressed his cheek against her head. "Because I'm not supposed to." He whispered. "You heard what Iruka said. And I've never taught a team before."

Sakura hiccupped, and didn't dare say that he'd probably had sex before. It didn't matter, as he addressed that assumption anyway.

"As you've realised, it is very rare for a kunoichi to be a virgin when she has sex with someone she wants for the first time." He said softly. "I still don't know how to deal with that, because everyone I've ever been with has been taught to seduce, and to take what they want. They also know what to expect from it." He explained.

"Yes, I would usually have done those things you said, but I could be coaxed into it by a woman who was trained to seduce to kill." He pulled her closer. "You're a first for me, too."

Her mother's words rang in her mind, along with the fact that this couldn't happen to all new teachers.

"Don't they teach you what to teach us?" She asked softly.

"Yes." He said quietly. "But not beyond the contents of the curriculum and a couple of hints." He smiled wryly. "And of course, to not encourage any emotions on either side while in a teaching position. I haven't done this before," He reiterated. "I just… chose to tackle it how I would a normal mission."

"And stay detached." Sakura finished for him.

His breath fanned against her ear when he replied in a whisper. "Exactly."

He rocked her gently, and they calmed under the soothing feel of another body clinging to them. Once their breathing was lulled and their bodies a languid warm Kakashi quietly spoke up again.

"If there is anything else that you want or don't want me to do, you're going to have to tell me."

"Okay."

And if Kakashi said anything else, it fell on deaf ears, because Sakura happily drifted off to sleep, feeling certain now that it was ok.

Kakashi was still with her when she woke, glaring sleepily at his wall and cricking his neck.

"Morning." Sakura whispered, her voice hoarse from sleep and crying.

He nodded before smiling at her. "You know, Sakura… I am much too old to sleep upright on the sofa."

Sakura shrugged unrepentantly. "You could have laid down."

"You wouldn't budge."

Sakura flushed a little, and moved off of his lap so that he could get up.

"Tea?" He offered.

"Yes, please."

Sakura tried not to frown. The atmosphere wasn't awkward, but Sakura felt like it _should_ be. After her outburst, they shouldn't be quite so normal. They chatted over menial subjects while the ate cereal and drank tea, but Sakura was constantly waiting for the conversation to take a turn towards the night before.

Kakashi noticed her expression changing, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We don't have to do anything today." He said, and she smiled, pulling him into a hug.

He walked her to the door and she left, resolved to the fix the kitchen as she had things with Kakashi.

She took an odd kind of joy in sorting the kitchen, and she wasn't normally a cleaning person. It wasn't until she'd chucked out the third part-loaf of bread that was out of date that she remembered the list, that same list that she would have to feedback to Kakashi on the day after.

And she was going to talk to Ino about it.

It was late afternoon by the time that she had finished, and a quick glance over had words like 'anal' standing out at her like barbed wire, prompting her to leave.

Surely not many people would be interested in entering the exit?

She blushed as she took to trees and buildings, the all so familiar feeling creeping up on her in a wave of embarrassment. She really did need to get over the irrational idea that all other people were psychic.

As it turned out, Ino had gone out, and so Sakura went home to grumble and once again ponder her list alone.

She slept well, considering that she was supposed to be worrying. Well enough that she didn't feel remotely prepared about the list sat on her windowsill, but nor did she feel daunted by it. It was just… there, and she was feeling pretty confident about it having Googled what each item was.

Every single one she had said may be negotiable. After all, there were several unappetising things on there but she didn't know if at some point she might have to do them.

As bad as that sex was with Kakashi, she had a feeling that, with someone else, it could have been a hundred times worse.

With that trail of thought out the way, Sakura got up and dressed (showering properly), and ate a healthy breakfast that she cleaned up after herself. She then set to work on the laundry before preparing the ingredients for dinner. She knew she would probably think 'no chance' if she left it until after she got home, and she'd been skipping afternoon meals enough as it was.

After hanging the clothes on the line outside, Sakura found that it was probably around lunchtime and wasted some time making a sandwich to eat outside.

She fed the birds.

She cleaned the lounge.

She basically wasted time until it was time for her to leave. Sakura frowned. Maybe she should work hospital shifts in the mornings. She'd have to discuss it with Kakashi in case he decided the change her training pattern. So far it was evenings, every other day.

Was he just being a lazy bastard, or would it stay like that?

Sakura thought about it as she pulled a light jacket on, just in case, and resolved to ask.

She knocked on Ino on her way past, in the hope that she had returned from her mystery adventure, which she had. It appeared that she had been collecting as much knowledge about the events on the sheet as humanly possible in such a small amount of time. Without trying them, of course.

"Can you believe that they would ever ask us to do that?!" Ino ranted. "Really, what guy is _actually_ into that?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "The type that we need to get locked up for it." She responded, her voice slightly weak. Honestly, some of these things seemed beyond torturous to her, too. She clenched her fist and then glanced down at it thoughtfully.

Was that honestly meant to-?

Flushing hard and feeling sick, Sakura changed the subject. "Have all of your lessons been at the same time so far?"

Ino nodded. ""Yeah, I think it's just more convenient for the teachers. Kurenai-sensei had begun to change the times of Hinata's lessons though, but I think that that it to try and help it fit around te baby and whatever else it is that she does."

"I want to do some hospital shifts, but I don't know if I'll always meet up with Kakashi-sensei in the evening."

"Why would you want to work while already technically working?"

"Training." Sakura corrected.

"Whatever. We're doing what we would on a mission. That counts as work."

"It's something done for _leisure_ too. And it's not exactly dangerous here."

"I'm still not going with it." Ino muttered.

When they got there they found their sensei's already sat down, with the students that had beaten them there sat beside them. Ino and Sakura shared a glance before nervously wandering towards their respective senseis.

"Yo. You got your list?"

Well, he cut to the chase. Grumbling slightly, Sakura removed it from her pocket and handed it over to him. "Am I allowed to change this later on?" She asked.

Kakashi scratched his chin and nodded. "I should imagine so. You've put all of these problems as changeable anyway. You just may need to discuss the reason for the change with Tsunade if you want to add anything to it from the currently 'ok' list."

Sakura bit her lip and nodded. "Alright."

He caught her expression and placed his arm over her shoulders. "Her, it'll be fine."

Sakura nodded once more, feeling reassured but spent the rest of the meeting being focused on the way Kakashi's arm had felt around her shoulders, instead of the talk that Anko was giving about the joys of being a kunoichi.

**A/N – I'm not too sure how this chapter is… *bites lip* Well, let me know what you think! Hopefully the next chapter should be up on Saturday at the latest! **

**Thanks for reading!**

**R&R **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N –Thank you to everyone who reviews… you guys are the only reason I find time to write :) Also….. 50 REVIEWS! Absolutely happy! :)**

**The chapters are going to be spread across a lot longer stretches of time now, for example a week each until we get to weeks that are going to be too long and split into a couple of chapters. This one is not one of those, thankfully. I shall also try and update at least weekly, even if I'm busy. More than once a week if possible. I'm sorry that this chapter is up later than planned.**

**Great massive amount of thanks to the wonderful, amazing WitchesRayne for Beta reading! If I owned him, I would give you a pet Kakashi with a lead and everything.**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**

**Chapter 6**

**Week Two**

She left at the usual time on Tuesday evening, the both of them smiling slightly shyly (in Sakura's case at least), and agreeing to meet on Wednesday rather than having a day's gap in between.

This sent excitement hissing through her in a way that surely only happened when she was aroused. And she was, in an infuriating way that she hadn't felt either of the times that they had had sex. Instead, after a _long_ lesson on kissing, including some slight criticism and a lot of practice, she found herself wanting him a lot damn more than was entirely comfortable.

She flushed, and squeezed her legs together as much as she could while walking because she had the sudden thought that otherwise she may see the proof standing out against the solid black of her knickers.

It was with a slight whimper that Sakura returned home through her discomfort, and in the state that she was it took several hours for her to fall asleep.

"Wrong!" Kakashi sang, leaning down to scrape his teeth against her neck as he easily swiped the kunai from her grasp. "Do you honestly think that a ninja would not notice that?"

Sakura sighed. "I guess not."

"And you realize what would happen in this situation?"

"I would get raped." Sakura replied flatly. She didn't mean anything by her careless tone; it was just that the words had ceased to have any meaning in the two days that they had been practicing. Two days during which it had been constantly drilled into her. She understood well enough, for someone who had never experienced it, she just didn't respond to the words any more. She supposed that was the point; to be only afraid in the situation and not when confronted with the idea of it.

"Try again," he urged and handed the weapon back to her. At current, he was balanced on top of her, 'pinning' her to the bed. If she couldn't get this right, then it was going to be impossible when they tried the same thing in different positions.

And even more difficult in life practice.

She had to try and press the kunai against a vital spot before he noticed. In real life, she could kill him, so Kakashi wasn't going to 'let' her get a hit in. Firstly, he was waiting for her to find a movement, or vital point that she could aim for without his obviously seeing the movement. Once that was done, she would have to distract him long enough to reach it while he was off-guard.

Not that she even knew how to do that.

With a sigh, she slid her hand to her hip and nodded at him.

He nodded in return, and held her gaze as she trailed the hand down the side of his thigh to his knee, to bring it between their legs to rest against his thigh pointedly.

"Any better?"

He nodded. "Well, it is a lot more subtle than going for my neck."

"Can we take a break now?"

"Once we've found a couple more we can take a break before putting it into practice."

"I honestly think I'll find this easier if we break long enough to eat. We've been at this for hours!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow but didn't reprimand her. As promised, he had only gone into sensei mode to explain theories. Other than that, he had behaved as if they were friends, or closer, or at least doing this out of choice.

He would do this a little during their practice, but when she had arrived the day before and when she had left he had treated her as if she were someone at least close to him, and had given her a final kiss at the door before she left. And then when she'd arrived again he'd greeted her by pecking the corner of her mouth.

He was doing exactly what she had wanted, only better. Honestly, she had only needed it to apply to the bedroom.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked, frowning at the sandwich he had made her. "Are we going to have sex soon?"

Kakashi looked at her seriously and swiped a lock of hair away from her face. "I thought we'd work up to it; do things in steps with intercourse being one of the last."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

"Before discussing anything on your questionable list, of course." He amended.

"Ok." Sakura replied, and nodded.

Sakura felt self-conscious in the outfit that he had told her to put on, not that it actually was one. In her view, it was just a slightly jazzed up version of her underwear.

If jazzed up meant that it included garters, high heels and a black hat.

Having mastered the vital points and when to use them before leaving the night before, they'd moved on to putting it into practice.

Well, sort of. Now she was deciding which weapon to use out of the ones she could hide on her person, and also where to hide them. And how to get them out without being noticed. He'd given her warning about the weapons the night before and so she'd put senbon into her hair as well as bringing a weapons pouch. The weapons contained were now hidden in her boots and garters because he'd told her to make sure that they were reachable and that he wouldn't immediately be able to notice them. That was fine.

But when were they going to get on to the distractions? She wouldn't mind being a little distracted herself… hell, she already was. His weight on top of her now rather immodestly clothed form was doing wonders to cloud her brain in foggy, inappropriate thoughts. The fact that they were spread out on his bed, and he hadn't taken on his teacher-tone helped a great deal too.

And how he'd forgotten to open his curtains that morning. The room was darker than it needed to be.

Sakura nervously lifted a leg to wrap around his waist, and skimmed a hand down his front until she reached his trousers, and pulled it round to lightly run over his bottom. The kunai in her boot was quickly removed and held to the back of his neck.

"That any good?" She asked.

Looking pleased, he nodded. "Without being told you knew to shift your position to be the most advantage to you as possible. That's very useful, and for now it is absolutely fine. Later on you'll have to figure something out without moving, but you'll be able to use distractions to do that."

Sakura nodded. "Alright. When can we do that?"

Kakashi smirked. "There's no need to rush."

"Soon?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi lost the cocky smirk and smiled at her affectionately. "Just try a couple more first."

Nodding, she pushed him up until he was kneeling, bringing her own body up with him. Holding his gaze, she smoothly pulled the concealed weapon from her thigh, her cheeks heating at the way that he looked at her, and held it against her thigh.

Once she had, she became suddenly aware of the position that she now found them in. She was sat atop him, her barely clothed body resting _there_, and red stained her cheeks.

Well, this hadn't been planned.

Kakashi's eye held hers for an infinite amount of time, sending slight confusion and arousal and embarrassment through her before a smile cracked through and he nodded at her. "That would probably work, too."

"Good," Sakura whispered. Her eyes closed as she tilted her head towards his and her lips parted to allow a shuddery breath through moments before his touched against them. His arms came around her, pulling her as close to him as possible, giving her no room to distance her body from his.

They were pressed together in a way that only increased as Sakura squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to rid herself of the slight discomfort. Her embarrassment faded when he pressed up against her and let out a slight groan. She could feel him rubbing against her, the material of his trousers rubbing against her thighs. She could smell him, the distinct smell of Kakashi permeating her nostrils while he surrounded her, holding her, wrapping her in his body to cradle her. His right hand slid upwards to stroke her neck and wind into her strawberry locks. His tongue thrust in, and Sakura desperately tried to mimic his movements in the way that Tuesday's activities had taught her.

This didn't last long. She forgot what they were doing very quickly, and gave in to the feel. Evidently, he did too, because they didn't return to the lesson. They held each other close until it was pitch dark, and they detangled their limbs for Sakura to return home.

They had the ideal lesson of combining the two when she returned on Friday. Hours spent kissing and touching, and forcing herself to remember that she was supposed to be subtly sneaking weapons out and placing them against lethal points on his body.

"You haven't got me in the last hour and a half!" Kakashi exclaimed as he pulled away from her mouth.

"I was waiting for the right moment."

"Well, by now the moment would probably have passed. Concentrate."

"I am." Sakura muttered. She could tell that he was getting impatient, and this worked to her favour. She waited until he had once again been lulled into the idea that she wouldn't act any time soon and then lifted her body to push against his own. When he sighed with annoyance and his body responded, she swiped a kunai against his pulse, right where he ought to have seen it. "How's that, sensei?"

"A damn lot better than before." He replied, his eye wide. "However, I don't think it'll work on anyone who you haven't had that much time to convince that you're not going to do anything. Remember, if these men haven't been caught yet, they are probably always on their guard."

"You said you were on your guard too. To make it difficult for me."

"I was." He let a grin escape, and ruffled her hair. "And you did manage to bring me off it. Good job."

"Have I succeeded in this area enough to move on then?"

Kakashi frowned. "Why are you so eager to power through this? It is better to get it right than finish the training quickly."

"I know. I'm just curious about what other stuff we are going to do."

"I gave you a syllabus, didn't I? What is it that you are curious about?"

"All of it. I know what the syllabus says, I just don't really understand it yet, I guess." Sakura flushed. "I haven't even heard of some of the things on there before."

His eye softened. "Don't worry. I said that we were going to do this slowly, and I meant it. I'll try to keep things comfortable, but you're going to have to trust me on this."

"It's not…" Sakura cheeks darkened further. "It's a little too slow, you know what I mean? I kind of want to get it all over with, so I can stop worrying."

"Sakura. Trust me, there is nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say," Sakura mumbled. "_You_ actually know what we're talking about."

"We'll get there." He sighed. "We have around ten weeks left. And believe it or not, I do have a rough idea of the pace to use."

Sakura frowned, but had no response.

"And as I said, it is better to _actually_ learn it."

She nodded. "Okay. Sorry."

"it's fine. Now how about we go get some lunch?" He scratched his head and grinned. "I forgot to go shopping, so how'd you feel about Ichiraku's?"

"Yeah…that sounds good." She replied.

She flushed as she walked down the road, now fully dressed, next to her sensei. It wasn't unusual of course for a teacher to catch up with students, or for ninja to go out with their team. It just seemed a little different to her now.

Of course it was different now because of what they were doing, and Sakura spent the entirety of their walk telling herself that she was being ridiculous and nothing had changed.

And she spent all of the time eating not believing it.

By the time that she went to the meeting on Monday evening, they'd decidedly finished with the 'topic' that Sakura was finding so infuriating and he'd told her that the next week would be spent doing things slightly more sexual.

She felt giddy although she didn't know what he actually had planned. He'd also told her that he'd be done showing her around the subject about halfway through – so she knew now that by the six week mark they probably would have done everything that she'd okayed on the sheet. The time after that would be spent discussing the other items, and making sure that she could put everything into practice.

He was sat in the corner, beside Asuma-sensei this week and so Sakura and Ino remained together once they entered the room, sitting in a group of four that increased when Kurenai arrived with Hinata in tow.

"Alright!" Iruka called. "Quiet!"

The hush of noise immediately went down, everyone instantly hushed and the entire room faced the front. "You have now finished your first fortnight on this course. You've hopefully gotten a good taste of what this is about, what it entails and how difficult will be. If you don't want to do this, now is your time to leave."

The room was silent as every kunoichi looked around the room to see if any classmates were leaving, but no one did. That didn't change the fact that the class was smaller than it had been the first lesson. It seemed that everyone who wanted to quit already had.

Sakura smiled across the room at Akimi, and felt cheered when the girl happily returned it.

"Good." Everyone's attention went back to the ninja who stood at the front, a few steps away from where Akimi was sat. "You have begun the course properly by now, as told by your teachers. We shall spend these classes reviewing what you have learned, and talking to your classmates. We encourage you to share your experiences. On occasion, you shall have a talk as you did with Anko last week. We shall begin this week by splitting. Kunoichi this side of the room, teachers over there." He gestured. "Spend the next ten minutes talking to as many people as you can."

Activity ensued, as waves of people headed to either side of the room, and Sakura stuck close to Ino and Hinata as they made their way over to Akimi. The group stood for several minutes together, glancing around.

"um…"Ino started. "So what are gonna talk about?"

Another awkward glance around.

"Ah," Hinata blushed. "We're being told to actually _gossip_ and.."

"We're actually not." Ino finished. "Where's Tenten?"

"Over there with Claire." Akimi gestured. "Wanna go say hi?"

Sakura shrugged. "Well, at least they'll get us talking."

"Guys!" Tenten cheered. "How are you?! I mean, how are your sex lives? Guy's stamina is amazing – last night he lasted over an hour and-"

Eww. Sakura wrinkled her nose, and spent the rest of the time avoiding the question that Tenten had answered without being asked.

**A/N –Again, I'm sorry that this took longer! I shall update as soon as possible. Thank you for reading!**

**R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you again to all of the reviewers and to WitchesRayne, the world's best Beta! :D This chapter hasn't been edited yet, because I wanted to update on time, but I shall replace the chapter later.**

**Oh, and all of you need to rush off once you've read this and go read Home by Rusala because it is epic! :)**

**Also…beware the slightly adult content in this chapter ;) And beware the swears. They can get a little crass.**

**Chapter 7**

**Week 3**

Sakura yawned as she made her way to Kakashi's. After the meeting she'd gone to Ino's, where predictably none of the kunoichi had gotten a great deal of rest. And had then fallen asleep around half eight in the morning.

She'd had to leave at quarter to eleven. It seemed that her sensei could have done with a couple more hours too; with the amount of time that it took for him to open the door and the sleep ridden look on his face.

"Mornin'" She mumbled as she trudged passed him to sit on the sofa, barely hearing his yawned response. His lips were sloppy as they met hers, lazy and the two stared at each other a moment without speaking before Kakashi rubbed at his neck and sat forward.

"Right, I figured that we've been a little slim on the written aids so far, so…" He trailed off and picked up the stack of Icha Icha that sat on his coffee table. "We can start with you reading these, and I'll be here to answer any questions that you may have. Just read chronologically for now, and before you go home I'll give you a list of specific chapters that might interest you."

Sakura gaped at him, bleary eyed and open mouthed. "You are going to _lend me your books?!_"

He blinked. "No. I got you your own." He patted the covers and got to his feet. "Happy reading."

She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, he still didn't trust her to read his beloved porn. On the other, he had just optionally spent money on another human being.

Neither side winning out, she opened the first book to the first page and began to read.

Several pages later, she found herself pushing her legs together a little as she read, her cheeks pink with the embarrassment of being aroused by a book that she was embarrassed to read, and leant forwards quickly to pick up the mug of tea that her sensei had made her, holding it on her lap. It was warm…

That wasn't helping.

She gulped it down and placed it back down on his surprisingly neat furniture. The wood was a clean, pale, new color that matched his kitchen counters and stood out against the rest of his mess. He didn't clean often, as was evident, but a select few things were spotless: the wooden gifts that had come from Yamato's disgust at the state of his furniture.

Turning her attention back to the words in front of her, Sakura kicked off her shoes and brought her feet onto the sofa to curl up into a ball. She read further, fully immersing herself into the story only to jump a mile wide and let out a small shriek.

"What the hell is this!"

Kakashi was behind her in an instant, concerned by the level of noise coming from the tiny ninja, and let out a loud laugh when he saw the page that she was so horrified by.

"That's rimming." He explained, a wide grin dominating his features at her shocked expression.

"It's _what_?"

"Rimming."

"She's licking his arse!" She yelled out, and promptly gasped, flushing an even deeper red as she realized what she had said. She could feel Kakashi's laughter through the hand that he had placed on her back, regardless of how hard he tried to stay silent.

"It's not uncommon." He softly answered. "If the author had included it, then he probably finds it pleasurable."

"I don't want to think about Jiraiya-sama in that way!"

"And it was on your sheet was it not?"

"On my 'to discuss' list! Because I had no idea what on earth it even was!"

"Is that now on the 'no' list?"

"Ugh!" Sakura growled, and hid her head in her hands. She didn't particularly want anything on the no list by the end… but she was fairly certain that there was no need to rehearse that. "Yes." She decided. "For now that is on the 'no' list."

"Alright." He said soothingly, and continued smoothing his hand over her back. "Want to keep reading?"

"Not if there's going to be any more of that!"

"It'll get worse. Believe me."

Unfortunately for Sakura, it did, and it was with a heavy cloud of unease that she opened the books to the advised chapters. The good thing was, reading them at home meant that she didn't have to see his face.

She immediately knew she was in for a practical when she returned the next morning. Something about the liveliness of his 'good morning' kiss.

The way that his hand gripped onto the back of her neck and she found herself crushed against the sofa with barely a hello. His expression was certainly not teasing as he pulled away and ran his eyes, both of them, up and down her body, handing her a bag that had been sat at his feet.

"Put this on." He demanded.

Sakura went to open the bag, curious, but his hands stopped her. "No." He reprimanded hoarsely. "Just go put it on."

When she emerged again, he nodded with approval and rather blatant arousal. She knew, and she liked it.

It was nice to know that he thought she looked good.

Smirking, Sakura winked at him and cocked her hip, focusing his gaze onto her barely clad bum. She was wearing what she supposed was supposed to resemble a nurse's uniform, but certainly not one that she would ever go to work in. A tight, white corset pushed her chest up higher than anything else had ever managed, her skirt was too short to cover anything and frilly white garters held up white fishnet stockings that led down to the highest pair of heels that she had ever worn.

This was something that she definitely hadn't found at the lingerie store, and would've been highly embarrassed if she had.

No wonder her sensei hadn't seemed overly impressed with her underwear.

Feeling sexy for the first time in her life, Sakura tipped the tiny white hat down to shade her eyes and bit her lip.

"Are you going to be my patient?" She asked softly.

In the space of time that she took to blink, he had reached her, his firm arms pulling her into a tight grip, his hands wandering frantically to reach every bit of skin that was on display, and a great deal of what was not.

Whimpering against his lips, Sakura realized the advantages of wearing near nothing.

His fingers found their way quickly up her smooth thigh to rub against the tiny silk excuse for panties purposefully. The kunoichi clutching him let out a high pitched moan that made him roughly reclaim her mouth. He pushed the heel of his palm against her firmly and rocked it slowly back and forth, his other hand trailing downwards to trace her curves as her grip on him tightened.

Before long, she was writhing and whimpering under his satisfied gaze as he teasingly slid one finger along the seam of her panties, causing her to jerk up against him.

"Please…"She whimpered, her hips following with another buck upwards. He smiled softly as he watched her, a sad kind of wistfulness and self-hatred rushing over him. This was the first time that he had heard the kunoichi beg for him, despite what they had done.

He so desperately longed to go back in time.

"You want more, baby?" He asked her gently, pressing his lips against her temple, his fingers slowly tucking under the fabric as she let out a response in the form of a sigh that went straight to his groin.

He slid the tip of his finger back and forth, growling at the feel of her wetness and suddenly pushed it inside, dragging back out slowly before plunging back inside.

"Ah!"

Kakashi quickly pulled her around so that he could feel her ass against him, grinding against her as he replaced his finger where she wanted it, holding her against him with a secure arm around her middle. He ran his tongue along the back of her neck, biting down softly on the skin as she threw her head back.

He quickened his movements a little, adding another finger and tapping up against her slick walls before adding a third. It wasn't long until he felt her come.

He groaned softly into her ear, sending one final shudder through her before she relaxed against him, her breaths heavy and her body shaking.

Well, that felt a great deal better than when she had done it herself.

When she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a groan as she stood, taking her weight out of her sensei's arms.

"Wow…."She whispered, and a soft laugh answered her.

"Like that?" He asked.

"Yes!"

Still feeling that unnameable mix of emotion, Kakashi lifted the small woman into his arms and carried her into his bedroom and onto his bed. He wanted to apologize. He didn't know how, and he knew that anything that he had fixed may become worse by his dredging up the past.

She might not even want him to.

While he puzzled out, Sakura's eyes focused on his face, lazily watching him as she fought off her sudden tiredness.

"So, was there anything to learn from that, or do you just like nurses?" She asked, her words spilling out unchecked.

"Huh?" He smiled at her. "Perhaps a little bit of both. How do you think it worked? Did you find what I was trying to show you?"

"Hmm…"Sakura blinked her eyes open. "Um…Some clothing can be attractive? You didn't seem to be thinking all too much…"

"Neither were you!" He laughed. "How did you feel while wearing it?"

She frowned a moment, her mind fully on replaying the actions of the man beside her rather than the clothes that she was still wearing. "I felt more confident."

He nodded. "You need to hold onto that feeling, even when you are scared." He lectured. "If you feel confident, and sexy then the person you are targeting will think so too, regardless of his personal tastes."

Sakura frowned. Did he not find her attractive? It sounded like that was what he was saying. That he found her unattractive, and she couldn't lie to herself; that hurt.

Kakashi watched as several expressions flitted over his student's face, watching for several minutes before the reason dawned on him.

Oh.

"You're beautiful already, Sakura." He spoke, his breath fanning hotly over her ear. "You're beautiful always, and stunning when you know it too."

"You think so?" She asked him quietly, and he felt a slight tug of annoyance pull at him. He hadn't heard her insecurity over her appearance since she was a young genin. And fishing for compliments had always irritated him.

It was true though, so he had to give her that. Especially since she genuinely seemed to believe otherwise.

"Yes, Sakura. I think so."

When her arms came around him, he hugged her back, his nose buried in pink hair and a tiny white cap that was close to falling off.

After a few days of dressing up (and the things that followed), Sakura was excited to go see Kakashi on Monday. She had seen him every day that week, and she'd gotten used to the routine, regardless of knowing that it would not last.

No matter if she wanted it to.

They hadn't met, thus far, on the day of the meeting and Sakura felt an absurd pride in the fact that they would be going together rather than just meeting there. Something else that shouldn't matter and yet did.

Her lips met his immediately once his door was open, and he pulled her in, kicking it shut behind him. "Get your books out." He ordered. "We have an hour or so before we have to leave."

Sakura frowned. He could have told her to read at home, but she did as she was told, settling down on his sofa and pulling out the books. He sat beside her, his hands trailing innocently over her upper arms and lower legs until finally he cleared his throat and told her that it was time to go.

She got up, feeling slightly lightheaded as she put the books back into her bag and smoothed down her skirt before walking over to the door.

"Ah, ah." He stopped her. "Wait one moment."

He pulled her to him, his lips expertly teasing her own and his fingers found their way beneath her lacy black underwear without preamble. He stroked her a few times, only enough to arouse, before pulling away and nudging her towards the door. He pulled his mask over his head before opening it.

"Off we go then."

"What was that about?" She asked, annoyed that he stopped, and more annoyed when he didn't answer.

He watched her as they walked to the academy, his smirk hidden beneath his mask at the way that she squirmed. Throughout the meeting, he made sure to keep body contact wherever possible while never touching her in a way that would be frowned or giggled at.

It drove her insane.

The meeting was longer than usual, and Sakura strongly felt the loss of him while she conversed with her friends about Hinata's newfound bisexual tendencies. Shame that they weren't allowed to tell people; Sakura had a feeling that Naruto wouldn't mind. She couldn't concentrate already, and could feel a blush rising at the stuttered descriptions from her shy friend.

It appeared that there would be no opportunity to calm down. She had been aroused when she left, and was growing certain that the discomfort wouldn't go until something was actually done about it.

The thought of Kakashi's fingers made her hold back a moan. Even Tenten's conversational offerings were not enough to make the desire wane.

"I hate you." She mumbled once they were out of the door, but her words held no bite.

She was lying, and they both knew it.

Instead of going home, Sakura went back to Kakashi's, as they had previously decided. He'd told her that they'd finish her lesson after the meeting, but for the life of her Sakura couldn't even remember their starting one. All he'd done was watch her read and then arouse her beyond belief for the sake of his entertainment throughout the meeting. What kind of lesson was that?

Unless he was now going to get her off.

Flushing at her internal wording, Sakura darted her eyes to watch her silver-haired sensei.

"So," He began conversationally. "Have a think about what you have learned today before we get back. Then we can discuss it, as well as how we are to proceed."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully. She had no idea what he was trying to show her! He'd distracted her, didn't he know that? She had to spend all evening fighting down the feelings that he had brought forth from her, only to the effect of worsening the situation and-

Oh. Maybe that was it.

She'd found that sexual stimulation really was an ongoing distraction, and also realized that she would have to grow used to it and focus more to not allow herself to get distracted.

He'd probably been testing her, and she hoped that she hadn't failed all too badly. She had worked out what she had done wrong after all.

A small smirk hinted on her lips when he shut the door behind them and pulled them straight into his bedroom, and out of her thoughts. His arms came around her in their familiar way and Sakura fumbled his mask down quickly, the pair of them falling to the bed without turning on the light.

It was bizarre how much difference that made, she soon realized. Everything was more intense, more comfortable, more focused.

It was bizarre that she was so comfortable while she could not see him. It seemed somewhat contradictory to her. She'd hated before, the way that she couldn't see his face and yet now she revelled in it.

Her whimpers sounded loud to her, filling the darkened room as her sensei set to work on her clothes, his lips trailing and hands exploring.

Was he going to go further?

Sakura could barely focus as he sparked her higher and higher still, but she wondered if he was going to make love to her. It was nothing unwelcome now. It was something that she anticipated, however it was also something that she had assumed that he would want to discuss first. He tended to talk things over to make sure everything was understood before acting, always. Always unless he wanted her to work something out for herself.

Sakura frowned. Hadn't he said that he wanted to discuss the meeting with her? She shook her head and let it go.

She participated more fully than he had allowed before, feeling confident that he wasn't deliberately wanting her to know something. He was just acting, and it was infectious. He wasn't coaching, or imparting knowledge. He was back to tracing his fingers along her thighs and it was driving her insane.

She tugged off his flak jacket, her body curving up against him as he pushed his fingers swiftly inside of her wet, needy cunt. She could feel his erection against her leg, and it made her throb with want.

With a mewl she abandoned his chest and pawed lower, hurriedly unbuttoning his trousers and pulling down the zipper without thought. She no longer considered that he might stop her.

He felt so perfect in her hand. She stroked him, rubbing the head and exploring him in all the detail that she could in the dark. She couldn't see him, she could only focus on the feel, and it was turning her on more than she would ever have thought possible. It felt excellent, even better as their movements fell into synchronization.

If he always felt this good, it was no wonder that he liked to touch her. What puzzled her was that he hadn't asked her to do anything in return.

The thought was pushed out of her mind as they each drove the other higher and higher until the only choice was to come back down.

She could see nothing when she finally opened her eyes. She could still picture everything though. Kakashi's fingers were in her hair, stroking through the short pink locks, and she could feel the evidence of what they had done resting against her stomach. She smiled.

"I thought that we were going to discuss the meeting." She stated breathlessly.

"We are." He replied. "We just got lost on the train of thought." He yawned. "Discuss this in the morning?"

Sakura yawned and nodded, feeling her body lull into sleep.

**A/N– So, a fairly short chapter that I shall try to make up for with a quicker update… and there may be lemons! ;) Thank you for reading!**

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Thanks as always to my wonderful reviewers! Serial reviewers have eternal love – you know who you are! I am sorry this chapter is late, and thank you very much to the great, the epic, the wonderful Beta WitchesRayne!**

**Chapter Eight**

**Week 4**

**Day One - Tuesday **

"Just try and copy the actions in the book." He told her, squeezing her shoulder in an effort to calm her.

"But it only shows what they are doing, and doesn't really show how they do it. You have to give me some kind of instruction, sensei." As she'd been telling him for several minutes, it was one thing to act on instinct and another entirely to touch him while _knowing_ that he was judging her on it, and that she was pathetic enough to need a 'study aid' beside her.

She highly doubted that she'd like being told that she was doing it wrong, she was bad in bed, and she'd never be a good kunoichi. Although he probably wouldn't phrase it like that. She wasn't going to turn into a goddess over a few measly weeks.

Kakashi frowned. "Firstly, I thought that you weren't going to call me sensei when I am naked, and secondly you won't learn without practice. Just _do_ for now, and I will tell you what works and what doesn't."

"Can you at least tell me what to improve on first? It's not like we haven't done this before!"

"Sakura, I wasn't marking you on it before. Now let me walk you through it and we'll see how it goes. Most of this is just practice anyway."

Sakura frowned but nodded, and turned her head to better see the book that lay on the bed beside her. The first images were just what she remembered doing from before.

She reached out and touched his silky skin unsurely, having lost the ease with which she had performed the act when not under pressure. She flushed, a red that was complimented by that of her partner's sheets.

She wondered if he'd bought new bedding in the way that she had her underwear, and supressed a giggle at the thought of her sensei with a duvet cover patterned with cartoon ninjas.

She felt more confident now, with the situation alleviated by humour, and shifted closer to him as she began to move her hand, twisting it very lightly over the tip. She relaxed further as he nodded his approval and pushed himself against her grip. She built up a rhythm, lulling them both into it before flicking her gaze away from the hypnotizing motion to look at the images supposedly instructing her.

The first two just illustrated the movement that she had been doing already, and the third one showed the thumb sweeping over the tip. He let out a grunt and Sakura grinned, considering it a success. She repeated the action a couple more times before turning her attention back to the pictures.

They showed variations in hand movement, but she couldn't work out much else, other than one picture near the end that showed a hand touching the testicles.

With a frown, Sakura turned her attention back to the man next to her and reached out a hand to do just that.

"Shit!" Sakura jumped as her sensei cursed and pulled out of her grasp quicker than she would have thought possible. "Don't do that!" He moaned.

"I was just following the book!" Sakura whimpered. "If you'd told me what to do then this wouldn't have happened!"

"The book, if I am correct, showed you to _touch_ not _clamp!_"

"Sorry."

**Day Two - Wednesday**

Sakura rolled her eyes and fought the urge to yawn as she listened to Kakashi's not-quite-the-same-but-similar version of the talk that Iruka gave on the henge jutsu at the academy, as if she had forgotten.

And not only that, but he'd told her to get there early to do so. It was barely daytime and he was pressing on the importance of a technique that she had learned and understood as a child.

When he broke for breath, she asked him; "Sensei, why did you tell me to come so early?"

"Because we are doing something else later. Now, give me a henge, preferable a subtle one."

A couple of seconds and some concise hand symbols later, and she was gone, replaced by an average height brunette with plain features who a couple of pounds overweight.

Kakashi nodded. "Good. Now, how long can you hold it for? Can you do it in your sleep?"

"A while." Sakura frowned. "And no one can hold a henge in their sleep, sensei."

"Don't say no one unless you have checked with every ninja in the world." Kakashi told her. "Myself and Gai can hold henges for over two weeks including sleep."

Sakura sighed. "This was one of your challenges, wasn't it sensei?"

"Yes."

"Who won?"

"I did. A slight difference in technique can allow it to hold for longer and I copied it off of a master. Gai obviously doesn't have this advantage, before you grasp onto that."

"And he lasts over two weeks?"

"I think it's three now, but yes."

"How long can you last for?"

"Indefinitely."

Sakura frowned. "What is the difference in technique that you mentioned? Can you teach it to me?"

"Yes, but not now. You shall keep up your henge for the duration of our journey until we make camp. Once stopped for the night you may keep it down until we leave the next morning."

"Where are we going."

Kakashi smiled at her. "We are going to observe some more practical, field based activities, and I thought that you may prefer to do so somewhere other than here, and while in disguise. And before you ask, we're going to a strip club."

Sakura frowned, and he continued. "You may well find yourself working in one as a cover at some point. You should also observe the way that they work; after all, they are there to seduce."

"How could I work in a strip club?" Sakura shrieked. "I don't know how to dance!"

"Which is why you shall be taking lessons, starting the week after next."

"Anything else I don't know about?"

"It was on your syllabus." Kakashi sighed. "Go home and pack so that we can leave. You have an hour, and remember to dress as a civilian."

He smirked as she left, leaving a trail of muttered words in her wake.

**Day Three – Thursday**

They'd arrived in the city much earlier than expected, and trawled through the area, unhindered by their backpacks as Kakashi had sealed them into a scroll that was hidden in one of the pockets of his loose civilian jeans.

It was weird to see him in anything other than ninja garb, but Sakura had had the last day to get used to it, and to her henge. True to her word, she'd kept her henge up until they made camp, and had a slightly different one up at current; today she was around her natural height, and a mousy blonde. All she'd done to her figure was make her bum slightly smaller under the blue jean shorts, and her stomach slightly rounder under its tight red top.

The club was much louder than Sakura had expected, particularly inside, and this helped her to calm down some. A heavy, thudding, floor shaking beat would hardly be used to detract attention after all.

The openness made the club seem like a good thing.

Sakura had seen the flashing neon sign from a while away, although she had not known what it said. It beckoned to her in a way that sparked excitement, the enthusiastic crowds and the sounds of the music dampening the effects that the smell of smoke and alcohol would ordinarily elicit.

A smile lit her features as she stared around hungrily; wanting to know what all of the fuss was about. The buzz around her made it seem as though the journey was worth it.

Not that she'd minded camping with her sensei.

She stood close to him, even away from the street her excitement was one that she knew would leave her the moment that he companion did. They found a table, closer to the centre of the room than Sakura would have liked.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked her softly, and seemed to understand when she shook her head, for he didn't go and get himself one either. The shadows hiding under the dim lights made her afraid. Like there was something there that she shouldn't go near.

"Why's it so dark in here?" Sakura asked softly.

Her sensei smiled, and reached to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "You'll see the effects in a minute, but it also helps the customers to feel more comfortable. Sometimes the people who visit these places don't want to be seen here, and they are more at ease in the near darkness."

She frowned. "But look at some of the groups!"

"The darkness allows their excitement to build… and of course, some of them just like being silly."

She snorted. "Like Naruto."

"Yes, if Naruto were here then I should imagine that he would be among them."

She carried on glancing around until the group on the whole appeared to be staring at the stage, and then she turned to stare with them, basking in the atmosphere.

A shiver of unknown coursed through her as the lights around her dimmed and another came on, lighting the stage and its contents, currently only a chair that was soon occupied by a busty woman with straight raven coloured hair.

Probably a wig, Sakura thought, glaring at the locks. They didn't look very real, but neither did her breasts. They were large enough to make her feel _very_ insecure, however time spent at bath houses and such had shown her that it wasn't natural to be quite that solid. She was a civilian, clearly, as a ninja would only resort to a henge.

If she could hold one up that was. The woman dancing appeared to be enjoying herself a great deal. That or she was a very good actress.

A very _very_ good actress, because by the time that they left, Sakura was more aroused than she could ever remember being, and from watching a woman no less! She was starting to see why Hinata didn't find her training with Kurenai all that terrible.

The entire walk out of the city to a clearing where they could pitch a tent, Sakura reran the evening's events in her mind, watching as the women seduced and found that while she was in awe of them, she had no clue as to how to replicate it.

"Sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"How am I going to learn to behave like them?"

"You'll do it naturally, don't worry. Practice and experience will be your guide."

"But-" She flushed.

"But what?" He asked, amused.

"I-" She fidgeted, rubbing her thighs together as they pitched the tent. "How do they stay… focused?"

"Ah." Understanding dawned on his features, followed by a wickedly innocent expression. "Need a hand?"

Wanting to hide her face with embarrassment, she supressed the urge and lifted her chin to meet his gaze fully with her own. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all."

**Day Four – Friday**

"So," Kakashi yawned as he hefted his pack onto his back. "What did you learn yesterday?"

"Loads!" Sakura grinned and Kakashi couldn't help but grin with her.

"Good. You seem to be progressing well at any rate."

"Really?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Yeah. You can actually see the skill in this now. A week ago you would have blushed and refused to enter the establishment."

Sakura frowned and accepted his point with a hint of pride. It was true, she was starting to see that there was a kind of art involved, as she once had when she had struggled with taijutsu at school. Everything had to be done just so, and once achieved it was beautiful. Those women could have asked anything and Sakura felt certain that there was at least a seventy per cent chance that they would get what they wanted. She'd seen, again and again the men say that it was 'the last dance' that they would get for the night, only to give in when the next woman approached him, licking her lips and batting her eyelids.

There were a variety of builds and hair colours, and yet they were all equally alluring, something that reassured her somewhat. It was all in the actions.

"I think you may be right." She murmured thoughtfully. She also wouldn't have started anything the night before, and yet here she was, accepting his advances happily. She wondered how much longer it would be until they had sex again. He'd said that it would be near the end of the list. They were nearing the end of the safe list already, with only a couple of lessons, including oral, remaining.

So sometime within the next few days, right?

As if reading her thoughts, her sensei broke in. "You'll be coming to mine rather than going straight home when we return, unless you are busy. Is that alright?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically, and the night's camp was followed by dreams of her expectations of the day ahead.

**Day Five – Saturday**

"Lie back," He commanded softly, admiring the view as she did so. Her silky skin, leading up to her small pink nipples, past her collarbone and throat to the jaw that was obviously clenched at his position between her legs, all bathed in the soft light that was fighting it's way in through his curtains. "You need to get used to not having control. Only then can you control the situation properly rather than behaving like a frightened rabbit." He grinned.

"I am not frightened." Sakura snapped. "Slightly tense does not make me scared. Maybe it's anticipation?"

Kakashi knew the difference, but backed down, knowing the lack of sense that would be arguing with her in conditions such as this.

Especially since this was something that he had been looking forward to.

He slowly, ever so slowly leant forwards, inhaling deeply as his stubble rubbed teasingly against her inner thigh. She could feel his breath on her, hear it as he loudly took in and released her scent, his eyes closing. He was so close, she could feel it, so close and yet not quite touching.

Unable to help herself, she shifted slightly, irritated when a smirk wove over his features and he failed to come into contact with her intimately. Realisation washed over her as she remembered an often used line in the books that she had read.

"Please…" She whimpered, and slowly shifted her hips again. "Please, Kashi."

A snort met her nickname, along with his eye snapping open, but he flicked his tongue out anyway, giving her what she had so nicely asked for. He tasted her slowly, exploring thoroughly and repeating actions again and again to help her learn her body at the same time as he did. He laved every part of her with the flat of his tongue before trailing the tip in intricate patterns that made her moan. Finally, finally he placed his fingers inside of her as he sucked softly on her, sending her over the edge and he smiled as he watched her come back to herself.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled them onto their sides, stroking her hair away from her face as she looked at him in confusion.

"Am I going to try that now sensei?"

"No." He replied softly. "You can have time to get used to the idea before you try to replicate it, as you have with everything else."

"But what if I want to?" She asked, averting her gaze and shifting slightly against the bulge that she could feel in his trousers.

"If you want to then it is another matter entirely, but you don't _have_ to. I can't stress that point enough. We will go at your pace."

"I want to." She said firmly, and was met with a wide, eye-crinkling smile.

"Good. That makes me happy; it means that you are progressing well. This is my first time with a student Sakura," He reminded her. "And I'm pleased that I haven't scared you off."

It was with more than a hint of pride that Sakura scooted her body down the bed and reached for his zipper, pulling it down surely. She didn't feel shy about this part any more, only slightly uncertain, once she had removed the barrier of clothing, as to how to tackle the task with her mouth.

It wasn't something that she had thought extensively about doing, and she didn't know the right thing to do. For now, she decided, she would simply explore. He'd correct her if she was wrong.

Shaking her hair over her shoulder, she wasn't too surprised when her sensei reached back to gently pull it out of her way. She'd seen that in the books, and only in a humorous one had the woman yelled at her partner for tugging on it. Kakashi wouldn't, anyway.

She started by stroking, touching in the way that she had learned was his preference and waited until his eyes were closed and features lax before carefully sliding out her tongue to lap at the precum that she had brought forth from him. She rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, carefully evaluating and getting used to the taste. It wasn't bad… just foreign to her. She just needed to get used to it.

And she did, licking and suckling carefully on the head before trailing tiny kisses down from tip to base until finally she found the courage to bring it into her mouth. She just moved her head back and forwards a little while, unsure, and relaxed when Kakashi showed no signs that she was doing it wrong.

Nothing to indicate that she was doing it particularly right, either though.

Keeping her eyes on him, Sakura flattened her tongue against the tip, changing the angle slightly to accommodate him and sucked, feeling slightly aroused by the way that he was rubbing against her mouth. She sucked harder, stopping when she felt his stiffen and let out a hiss of breath.

After all, she wasn't sure yet what was pleasure and what was his tolerating her rough ineptness. She licked her way down to the base and, _very_ gently after a certain lesson, pulled his sac into her mouth to suck softly while she stroked his penis slowly with her fingertips.

She pulled firmer as she returned her mouth to the head, twisting her hands in opposite directions and flicking her tongue over and again.

"Stop." He demanded softly. "Sakura, you might wanna stop now."

She released him with a confused pop. "Why?"

"Because I don't think you're ready for that."

"For what?" She asked, only to find her question answered as her groaning sensei stiffened, and came over her still moving hands. "Oh."

Curiosity reigning, she leant forwards once more and licked up the evidence, feeling a hint of pride at the shuddered intake of breath above her.

"All clean." She sang, trying to battle down the part of her that wanted to run for the hills after her blatant display. "How did I do?"

"Brilliantly." He gasped quietly, his breathing not yet evened. He creased his eye at her in his smile and released her hair in favour of ruffling it. "I see those books have been proving useful."

"Useful they may be, but they're still porn sensei."

"You can't tell the others that. They'd want to know how you know."

"I could have just picked it up from Naruto's rants."

"You don't listen to Naruto's rants."

"He doesn't know that."

"I shall have to tell him."

"About how this conversation came about?"

He laughed. "Not likely, which is why you aren't going to say anything either."

Unfortunately, the man did have a point.

Sakura put on her threatening face and cracked her knuckles. "If I _ever _see you reading this in front of Genin again, I swear I will-"

"Do nothing." He responded. "Or hit me, which is a very poor show of teamwork."

"It will be teamwork if Tsunade finds out and decides to help me."

"You are much too pedantic, and this menial conversation is nowhere near enough to occupy me. Try again later."

"What a way of saying that you've run out of arguments, sensei."

She was answered by Kakashi rolling onto his side and giving a fake little snore.

It wasn't too long until he dropped off for real, and Sakura snuck out of his window to go home, where she slept almost through the whole of Sunday.

**Day 7 – Monday**

Sakura woke early and rested, having caught up well with sleep the night before and jolted out of bed near immediately. She had done nothing for a whole week it seemed, nothing other than training with Kakashi.

And, she noticed wryly, she had the build-up of dust and washing to prove it.

She also had to go shopping _again_ because she'd left the bread out to go stale and the milk was out of date. When had she developed such an incapacity to look after herself? She rushed through the chores, finally remembering to put away the laundry from days before and sat down in front of her wooden drawers with the pile, meticulously folding and putting away.

When she came across her 'ninja princess' girl shorts she realised that she'd been putting on the new stuff out of habit. She'd worn lacy stuff yesterday without even needing to.

Well, at least she wouldn't find herself in a situation of embarrassment.

She spent hours after that cleaning, stopping only when the rumbling of her stomach made it a necessity and wandered outdoors to head into town. She made quick work out it, adding all of the usual items to her basket without lingering, and paused in front of toiletries to pick up shampoo and other such items. Her eyes fell on a shelf of female products and a flush rose over her as she chucked a box of tampons into her shopping.

That could be embarrassing. The only reason it hadn't been before was because he had agreed that they wouldn't do anything anyway. Now, she might have to actually _tell_ him. After all, it wasn't as if he were psychic.

Although, he was her team leader and it was on her file. So maybe he knew?

Forcing down the awkwardness, Sakura picked up her usual toothpaste and threw the thought from her mind. It wasn't as if she had to worry quite yet anyway.

By the time that she had put everything away and had something to eat, she found that it was time for her to go out again, and found herself rushing to Ino's on a full stomach after a while of not eating, and had a small stitch by the time that she knocked on the Yamanaka's door.

"Out of shape, forehead?" Ino asked cheerily. "or has he not been exercising you enough?" She winked.

"I've just eaten, pig!"

"Careful on the food, or your stomach will be as big as your forehead."

"Shut up, Ino."

They rushed their way over to the academy, relieved that they weren't the last ones there and took their places beside Kakashi and Asuma.

"Running late?" The smoking ninja asked the blonde who snorted.

"No, but Sakura was."

Sakura just shrugged and greeted Hinata. Thankfully the remaining girl arrived before Ino could truly lay into her.

"Good to see you all again!" Iruka began. "You have now finished your first month here, and are all making excellent progress. Well done!"

A smattering of grins and giggles flittered through the room and Iruka waited a moment smiling. "As you should have been told, you will be starting dancing lessons during the next week, and the rota is up here," He tapped it lightly. "In a moment you will sign your name into three slots that suit your routine and inform your sensei of the timetable. This is one of the very few things that you will do as a class, as the majority of you training depends solely on your sensei. Please find a schedule that suits you rather than one that matches your friends, particularly if you are busy as we do not wish you to fall behind. Off you go."

A large scrape of chairs replied as the girls bundled forwards to get first pick of the timeslots, Ino elbowing hers and Sakura's way through the jumble to sign their names, together, in the places that seemed to suit them both. Unfortunately, only one was with Hinata, and they had none with Tenten at all.

It did look like the best option though, and they made notes of their days and times and returned to their seats, handing copies over to Asuma and Kakashi, who nodded. The dark haired ninja stubbed out his cigarette with a grin and turned to his friend.

"Looks like we have some set drinking times."

"Will Kurenai be happy to hear that?"

"A pint won't hurt anyone."

"No, but I will." Kurenai put in, and Asuma turned to find her stood behind him.

"Joking, dear."

"Right."

"So," Sakura began brightly. "How're you Hinata?"

"I'm good," Hinata blushed. "I haven't been doing much other than training. How about you?"

"Similar." She pursed her lips. "Only I spent yesterday doing all the washing that I'd forgotten about last week! Do you know anything about dancing?"

"N-no!" Hinata stuttered.

"I don't mean stripping, I just thought that it might be an advantage to know some sort of dance already."

"Oh! Yes, we all learn formal dancing at an early age in the clan. But surely everyone knows some sort of dancing?"

Ino snorted. "Like forehead does. Don't you remember when we did dancing in the academy? Four years and she couldn't remember to put left before right and not fall over."

"Alright everyone!" Iruka's voice leapt over the noise as only a teacher does, and turned the conversation back to its usual structure.

**A/N – So, I'm not too sure about this chapter, but the next one should be where things start getting really interesting! I was thinking of putting a certain little lemon scene at the end of this, but it'll be in the next chapter instead so things don't progress too quickly. Thank you for reading,**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**

**R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – Thank you to all reviewers, and especially TcEm, who went through and reviewed every chapter, making my inbox very happy! Extra love goes to WitchesRayne, the most lovely Beta in the world! :D**

**Chapter Nine **

**Week Five**

The next couple of days Sakura spent waiting on bated breath for the supposedly inevitable only to find no extension to their training. They simply enjoyed the 'rehearsal' of previously learned actions while discussing seduction and dancing. Her first lesson would be that afternoon, and she knew that she would only have more questions once she had found out what to expect. At least she would have two days in which to ask them before her second lesson on the Friday; one that was followed by a lesson on Saturday.

She frowned as she skimmed through her shoes, wondering what she was supposed to wear. She'd never worn anything other than training shoes when she'd been in the academy, but the women at the club had each worn a pair of sexy shoes with incredibly high heels.

So surely she'd have to learn to walk in them at some point.

Even so, she didn't even _own_ a pair of shoes that could pass for sexy, and so she frowned and tugged on a pair of comfortable pumps that would be useless against the elements but were comfortable to wear, flexible, and shouldn't cause her to fall flat on her face.  
They'd do.

The walk to Ino's went quickly with her busy thoughts, and the walk to the academy faster still as the girls discussed their separate experiences with the art. Ino, out of curiosity, had bought several DVD's, both how-tos and live performances from the place that Asuma and Kurenai had taken her and Hinata.

Speaking of, their wide eyed friend was hovering outside of the academy when they arrived, a smile dominating her sweet face, hidden a little under her jacket, as she spotted.

"I saw you two on the schedule." She explained. "How are you?"

"Good." The girls grinned. "How about you?" Sakura asked.

"N-nervous."

There wasn't much to say to that, other than assure her that they were slightly wary too. Together they walked into the academy and found their way to the empty hall, lit brightly from the numerous small, high up windows.

They all smiled at the familiar sight.

"Hey," Ino said softly. "D'you remember when we used to pretend that the dust was fairies, because in here we could properly see it?"

"Yeah," Sakura smiled. "And we spun around in circles pretending that we were fairies, too."

Hinata blushed. "And now we're coming into here… to strip."

The three frowned as a calm settled over them, thinking silently for a moment before the spell was broken by the loud thud of the door closing once more, and the chatter of the girls that had entered and were walking down the halls. All of the children were in their classes.

They were followed quickly by a tanned woman with long, soft handfuls of auburn hair caressing her back in its tight black t-shirt. Cropped leggings clung snugly to her toned legs and butt in a way that Sakura knew most women were envious of.

Well, that was something that Sakura didn't have to be jealous of. Her tits, maybe, but even a dancer's legs couldn't beat a kunoichi's. Could reach a par, perhaps, but couldn't beat it.

Sakura knew that some of the elder kunoichi had legs too muscled to be attractive, and marred with too many scars. These women may be the best, but for now Sakura revelled in the fact that her thighs were a woman's, regardless of some of her other attributes.

"Alright girls!" The woman's husky voice spoke. "For those of you who haven't met me yet, my name is Zoe. I will be your instructor for these lessons, and hopefully we will become friends as the lessons pass. Today, and for the rest of this week at least, we will work on various positions and moves without working up into a routine until you are all entirely confident.

Now," Her voice became authoritative. "When you arrive for each lesson you will immediately start to set up so that we can get the most done in these lessons as possible. The equipment is kept in this cupboard over here."

Pulling out several items, she gestured to the class to crowd around and so they did, watching carefully as she showed them how to set up before they tried to do their own. They were done quickly, seeing as they were the get-on-with-it rather than the ask-to-see-it-again type that some of the others seemed to be, and Sakura began pulling on the pole, feeling uncertain that something she had set up herself could hold her weight.

"Good, girls." Zoe called as she walked by. "That looks absolutely fine."

"Notice how she doesn't check." Ino grumbled under her breath. "As if she _wants_ us to fall to our deaths."

Sakura raised her eyebrows and Hinata wisely kept her mouth shut.

"For now, the shoes that you are wearing are absolutely fine. In a couple of weeks however, you will be dancing in the correct attire, which you shall collect after class. Now, for a few minutes, I want each of you to pull yourselves up onto the poles, just to see how much strength you have and how long you can hold it, alright?" Zoe ordered.

"As if we couldn't _hang_ in the academy." Ino scowled, but still the trio lightly jumped up and wrapped their bodies around the poles comfortable, resting until as they waited for her to tell them to stop.

"Well, this is productive…"

_Correct attire?!_

**Day four**

Friday morning saw her waking early again, feeling wide awake as she pulled herself immediately from her bed, washed, dressed and ate breakfast in preparation for the lesson. She had a feeling that she would be roasted alive if she turned up late, and scowled around her toothbrush at the thought of the woman dictating.

Sakura bent her leg while she slowly straightened her right, holding the stretch before switching legs, and then put on the plain black pumps, leaving her high heels unworn beside her bed. She put a deoderant, a water bottle and a spare pair of socks in her hip pouch and left; deciding that this time she would wait until she fot home to shower; the academy's hot water didn't last forever and she wasn't entirely comfortable, as of yet, with the topics of conversation that shower talk turned to.  
Especially since Hinata had asked her how Kakashi was in bed.

Ino was doing something before the lesson, so Sakura walked to the aacademy alone, avoiding walking into small children who'd clearly had a work out, and smiled shyly at the others as she put her thiings to the side as that she could help set up. Ino turned up several minutes later and threw herself into action, dragging the remainder of the equipment out of the store cupboard.

"Why don't we just get hold of a timetable and only pack away if there's a class next?" She grumbled.  
"The little ones just had PE." Sakura replied. "And there's no need for _you_ to complain - half of this was set up before I even got here."

Ino shrugged. "Well someone had to be first."

"yeah," A familiar voice butted in. "And someone had to be last."

"Claire!" Ino smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Anyone seen Kimi?"

The pair shook their heads. "No, sorry." Ino murmured. "Is she supposed to be here?"

"I don't know. I know that she has one lesson with me, but I don't know which."

Sakura fervently hoped that Akimi would be in that class. She genuinely liked the girl. "When do you have your other class?" She asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Same!" She grinned, happy that either way she'd have time to catch up with the girl that had become a friend.

Claire wasn't quite on the same wavelength as herself.

Again they spent far too long holding easily done contortions rather than learning anything that Sakura felt would be of use, and she slid her body down to rest against the pole as she waited for a new instruction. Akimi wasn't in that class it seemed, and Claire was one of the 'look, look, look at this!' types. She was tired of listening to girl exclaim her want of perfection in something that could be done by a girl years younger, and a lot quieter.

"Haruno." Zoe's voice sounded. "What is this?"

Biting her tongue, Sakura quickly shifted into the correct position and waited a few moments until the stern woman nodded. "Much better."

She completed another round of the room before clearing her throat and hoisting herself up onto her own pole. "And now, girls, you must learn to switch from one position to another, smoothly as so."

Sakura watched as the woman elegantly moved her body from one position to the next in specific, smooth movements and knew that this may well be the problem.

She was used to moving with purpose, sharply, not caring to add any flourish to anything that didn't need it.

Taking a deep breath, she began.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Ino laughed and Sakura used her grip on the pole to right herself, pulling herself up to immediately face the cold, unimpressed eyes of Zoe.

"You are not hurt?" The woman asked, and Sakura shook her head. "Good. Maybe next time there won't be any need for the clown acrobatics."

And then she swept on.

"Well," Claire grinned. "I think that it's impressive that you didn't hit your head."

"…Cheers."

An hour and a half later and Sakura hit the trees, her body gently berating her after the foreign positions that she had forced it into for the sake of not looking like a hippopotamus. She almost wished that she'd brought her things with her rather than going home to shower. Almost. Besides, she didn't have time to linger; she was meeting up with Kakashi as soon as she'd finished getting herself feeling fully human again.

She took her time despite the rush. As she'd been doing all week, she made certain that her under arms and legs were completely smooth and hairless and scrubbed every inch of herself thoroughly, washing her hair and cleaning under her toenails.

It was a weird habit that she had gotten into, and had become ferocious with as she found herself drawing closer and closer to a time when he would have to have sex with her.

She dried her hair instead of letting it drip and scented her neck with a subtle flowery perfume before using the few items of makeup that she owned. She had a feeling, a strong feeling that something was going to happen.

"Because I'm going to damn well make it happen." She muttered nervously, breathing in and watching herself in the mirror, her eyes lingering on the red lace.

Not too shabby.

She chucked on a black top and skirt, smoothing both down critically before brushing her teeth and leaving to walk distractedly to stand in front of her teacher's door.

"Hey," She breathed when he opened it. "Am I on time?"

"I've been told I cannot comment on time." He replied, but a smile took over his features and her reached out to pull her into a hug, shutting the door behind her before he pressed his lips against hers.

"D'you want a drink?"

"Um, yeah. Some water would be good." Or at least could rid her of some of the mint that laid on her breath from her toothpaste. She always found that it had a slightly sickly aftertaste. She didn't bother taking a seat on his sofa as he entered the kitchen, instead remaining standing as he returned with a glass.

"Here."

"Thanks." She took a large gulp of the liquid, holding it in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. "So, um, what are we doing today?"

Kakashi took the glass from her, cocking his head to ask if she wanted anymore before taking it away. He didn't face her as he placed it onto the coffee table, his voice quietly proclaiming, "The inevitable."

She held her breath as he turned back to her, and his gaze as he moved closer and slowly brushed against her lips with his own.

"Shall we go somewhere more suitable?" He asked her, raising a hand to the back of her neck.

"I think that could be a good idea."

Once again his thick blinds were drawn and the light almost cut out completely to create a fake night complete with fake stars in the form of white fairy lights creating a net on his freshly dark-wood panelled ceiling.

"I, uh" He blushed and coughed uncomfortably. "Kurenai told me that little lights would make you feel comfortable, and that these," he gestured and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Would be the most romantic."

A smiled spread softly across Sakura's face as she nodded. "Kurenai was right." She whispered. "They're beautiful."

He smiled back, and slowly closed the door, turning to lift a hand to cradle the back of her head, combing it into her hair as he tipped her neck back and slid his other arm around her waist. He lowered his lips again, just as slowly as before and let them linger and tug gently several times before seeking out her tongue, tracing it gently with his own.

"Hmm." She whimpered gently, and rubbed her hand firmly down his shoulders to undo the first button, the other firmly entwined in his silver hair. Her nail lightly ran over the skin that was bared, slipping under the next button before rising up again and releasing it. Painstakingly slowly she rid him of his shirt and slipped it off, raising her arms to assist as he tugged on her own.

He found her mouth again as it emerged from the fabric and claimed it, firmer than any of his kisses so far that evening. His hand returned to her hair, tugging lightly as he grasped a small breast into his palm, stroking and plucking at her nipples. She gasped for breath and let out a mewl as she reached for his zipper while he unhooked her bra and moved her hands to allow the red garment to slip off as he kicked his trousers to the ground. She felt a sudden shyness, and loosely held an arm around herself as he bent to peel off his thick woollen socks.

Rising up again, he lifted her into his arms and half placed half chucked her onto the crisp navy blue duvet cover that he had covered his bed with.

Another thing he'd learned from Kurenai (or rather Kurenai berating Asuma) was to have clean sheets.

He pressed his nose against the hollow of her throat and pressed his lips against her soft, lightly scented skin and dragged down, kissing softly until he reached her belly button and then lifted up again, smiling crookedly at her and running his hands down her legs to the smooth colourless stockings that she was wearing beneath her skirt. He pulled them down slowly, coming back up again to drag down her skirt. He nipped her foot lightly before gripping her calf and pulling himself back up until he was level with her knee. He nuzzled against the side of it, ticking Sakura with the light hints of stubble that were starting to come through and her knee jerked involuntarily.

"That tickles." She muttered, receiving only a gentle kiss on her inner thigh in response.

He'd done this before, but still she found herself shuddering as his mouth trailed higher and removed her matching red panties. He tugged them down with his teeth, dropping them quickly onto the floor and returning his mouth to her before she could feel conscious enough to close her legs. His tongue made an eager appearance, licking and sucking until she was whimpering and he was straining against the one remaining piece of clothing that he wore.

Still, he continued, bringing her to the edge before moving away and covering her high-strung and slightly sweaty body with his own. His fingers took over, probing lightly, teasingly as he pressed another soft, tantalising kiss to her needy lips.

"Please, Kakashi…" She whimpered.

"Please what?" He returned, brushing her nose with his own as he slid one finger, slowly, inside of her a tiny amount, letting the tip linger before pulling away completely. He then returned, pushing in the tiniest little bit more.

"You know what I want!" She gasped, pushing her body against his hand as her own reached out for him. "Please…" she moaned desperately, her hands clumsy as she freed him from his boxers.

"Already?" He purred at her, moving his mouth to her neck. "But I've barely started with you…"

"I don't care!" She exclaimed, reaching out to clutch at his hips, pulling him to rub against her. "You want it too, don't you?"

He chuckled against her throat. "I can be patient Sakura. Remember, you can't rush things that you want prepared well."

"Well, the preparations here have already been extensive!" She groaned, stroking his dick in firm, strong strokes. She squeezed lightly at the base. "C'mon Kashi!"

"Not yet." A strangled sigh escaped her as his finger finally slid all of the way in, curving up to press against her on its way out.

"Hatake, I swear-" She hissed, only to cry out as her threat was interrupted by her sensei smoothly sheathing himself fully into her body.

"Better?" He gasped.

"Much."

The pair lay together for several moments, touching as they panted breathlessly before they began to move. Slow, sensual movements that could only be for her benefit, she realised. He was gentle, his hand caressing her hip as he held her up from the bed, the other one wrapped underneath to hold her.

He was so hard, touching all the right places… and so slow. Slow enough to make her whimper and melt into his arms but not quite enough as her desire grew. It seemed he was waiting on her impatience for her sped up. His movement were still not rough, only faster and Sakura felt dizzy with it. She needed _more_ damn it, and pushed the balls of her feet into the mattress for leverage, gasping as he took this as some kind of signal. He leant back to kneel, resting on his feel, and she felt herself dragged upright so that she was sat atop him, held closely. She rode him unsurely as she felt his lips against her ear, her shoulder, her breasts.

His hand moved downwards, running over her mound to swiftly find her clit and rub, making her throw her head back to cry out, her vision blurring around the small lights that so reminded her of stars. She rocked against him; raw, primal movements that didn't allow for thoughts as her eyes slide shut and her nails raked down his back and chest.

"Kakashi…" She whimpered, not noticing the way that his breath caught and his grip tightened. His touch was still perfect, and that was all that she could focus on. The tight, winding circles that would surely fling outwards once released.

She came hard, her mouth gasping open soundlessly, releasing only air as her body spasmed, massaging her cock and rubbing her breast against his chest, the hard nipples scraping against his muscled form.

"Agh." She whimpered, and her arms came around him, nose buried in his hair as he hid between her shoulder and neck to clutch her desperately as he gave her what her body had been demanding.

Slowly, languid as the entirety of that afternoon had been, he rolled to his side and snuggled under the duvet, pulling his partner with him.

**Day Five**

Sakura awoke first, smiling softly as she stretched in the bed that wasn't her own, laid next to someone that as about to profess a god. She reached out to gently stroke his face as she lay on her side watching him.

She had no idea what time it was, but a quick glance to his clock told her that she was lucky her dance lesson was in the afternoon. She reached up to the window, allowing a small amount of daylight to wash over Kakashi's features.

"Good morning," She whispered, knowing that he couldn't hear her. It made her feel good to say it, regardless of the fact that he wasn't awake to reply.

It was nice waking up next to someone. A few moments later however, she frowned in the direction of the door. She needed to pee. She didn't want to wake him…

Feeling like she was on a mission, Sakura tried to keep the duvet still around him as she shifted out from under it silently and made her naked way to the door. She felt disturbingly loud in the bathroom as she did her business, knowing that other than her the entire place was silent.

She washed her hand quickly and crept back in, certain that he hadn't noticed until a pale hand shot out and pulled her close for a cuddle.

"You decided not to run off for good then." He cracked an eye open and she nodded solemnly.

"It was a close call, but I left my clothes in here you see and didn't want to dash home starkers."

"Wise choice. A pervert might have gotten hold of you."

"Yes, I can't think who though."

They grinned and shared a brief kiss of happiness rather than lust before he pulled away and sat up. "Feel like breakfast?"

She nodded, and allowed him to feed her pancakes and grapes with fizzy strawberry juice without a health lecture on the liberal amounts of chocolate sauce.

It was only when she got home that she realised that, yet again, she had neglected the bloody laundry.

**A/N – I want fairy lights! Random decision born of writing this… I need to get fairy lights. I would use our xmas tree lights… but they flash. And they're 'gold' (yellow) rather than white…**

***adds to shopping list***

**It's only been a couple of days since the last chapter believe it or not, and I hope that this one met expectations… I'm seriously trying to post on time now, okay! Thank you for reading, you guys are epic,**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**

**R&R**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – Over a hundred reviews!**

**Agh! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed; I am now a very happy writer!**

**And huge love to WitchesRayne for Beta reading!**

**This chapter picks up right where the last one ended.**

**Chapter Ten!**

It took three loads to finish once she decided to wash her sheets as well, and that was with the clothes crammed in as much as possible while getting them clean. She debated for several moments about whether to do the sheets in her parents' room before deciding against it. She would do them later, once she'd returned from her lesson. She didn't want to be late because she was hanging sopping wet flower patterned sheets onto the washing line.

She put on the black pumps again, this time with black denim shorts and a loose fitting white tank top that clung quite nicely once she'd tucked it in.

Well, they were practical for the lesson.

She left earlier than she needed to, simply because she was ready. She ambled, relaxing greatly in her warm surroundings. The sun was still high and bright; despite the cold breeze, there were no clouds. She stayed out of the shadows; though there were few at this time of day anyway, and basked in the warmth.

There were children milling around everywhere; most in friendship groups and a few proud genin in teams, their new headbands gleaming and pushing their hair upwards because of the tightness with which they were knotted. A little ways away, far enough not to be frightened, a pair of blue tits flitted around in a forest green bush, as if observing the crowd.

Or rather _crowd_. For once Sakura had drawn through the wisps of shinobi and civilians alike, she came to a group, larger than others that she had passed, which stood still, mainly filled with civilians but containing a couple or shinobi at the centre. She smiled and made her way forwards as one of them turned and smiled at her.

"Sakura!" Genma beckoned. "Come here a minute."

Beside him lay a boy, reclined backwards with his gaze focused on his leg, which Sakura could immediately see was swollen and held at a bizarre angle. He was obviously civilian, as the grimace of pain would likely be absent on a shinobi of her age; he seemed around eighteen.

"Don't worry, I'm a medic." She smiled as she reached for his damaged leg, gently sending her chakra through and evaluating it before emitting the blue, focused chakra indicative of her healing it.

She finished quickly and patted his leg, straightening her body out of the crouch that she had been in. "Just a fracture." She murmured. "Don't put any extreme amounts of weight on it and you should be fine."

"I-uh, thanks." The boy smiled sheepishly. "I'm Koji."

"Sakura." She replied, and gestured towards his freshly healed calf. "What did you do to it?"

"I tripped." He blushed furiously. "I mean, I just got my foot caught on something."

"And tripped." Sakura finished, mentally comparing him to the Naruto of her genin days. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she remembered that she was supposed to be at the academy and turned to leave, giving the boy one last grin. "I have to go. Try and stay on your feet Koji!"

Just before the bustle put her out of earshot, she heard his voice pipe up. "Goodbye Sakura-san!"

She held one hand up as a half wave without turning, and continued on the rest of her journey without event. When she arrived at the academy, the last few poles were being taken out and there was only one other girl who had not arrived yet.

Well, and Zoe. Sakura sighed. At least she hadn't been the last. The two vacant poles stood side by side with Ino on one side and Claire on the other, and so Sakura headed for the one beside Ino, cheering as a few moments later Akimi appeared beside her.

"Hey!" Sakura greeted warmly. "How're you?"

"I'm good!" The girl mumbled happily. "I've been training all morning though, so I'm a little worn out already!"

"Oh, really?" Claire butted in loudly. "What has dear old Iruka-sensei done to get you all worn out, eh?"

The girl blushed and Sakura took pity on her, ignoring Claire's rude question.

"This is my third lesson." She offered with a smile. "What number are you on?"

"Second." She mumbled. "I'm being specialized rather than broad subjected."

"Really?" Sakura asked, wondering what she could be. Surely she would be specifically suited for something, rather than shipped out for anything? Rescue missions perhaps? Something that may require her medical talent maybe? That was all she really had an edge with. "What are you going to specialize in? Are there many categories?"

"I don't know." Akimi glanced down at her hands as she picked off the remainders of some nail varnish. "But I'm specifically going to be a mistress, so I don't need to be able to dance or even, in some situations, seduce. Iruka says that I'll mostly be given tasks that could be carried out by a civilian if the need called. I'll be posting fake profiles on dating sites that cater to adultery so that I have a back-up story, and then just make sure that I'm in the right place at the right time. Did you know that some women will pay us an obscene amount of money just to prove that their husband is cheating?"

Sakura gaped in shock. "Seriously?" Mission fees, particularly for kunoichi, were not cheap.

"Yeah." Ino shook her head. "Looks like you're the lucky one! Are you doing the same amount of weeks here or less?"

"Less." Akimi responded with a small smile. "And I don't have to do any turns at the club either."

"Huh?" Sakura squeaked ineloquently. "Turns at what club?"

Akimi blushed. "You'll be told soon. Iruka let me know everything before I made up my mind. You'll each do at least one shift, as a kind of competition, to see how much money each kunoichi makes. The high scorers usually get the missions involving dancing."

Could she do that? Could she take her clothes off in front of people she knew, not for a mission but purely for practice?

Well, she would have to. And it was _at least_ one. Maybe she could do more, she mused, so that she wouldn't react as she had just done by the end of it.

"Good afternoon ladies!" Zoe's voice called out as she strode quickly into the room to the pole that was set up for her, and Sakura's eyes narrowed. The woman probably only turned up late so that she wouldn't have to help.

A small spattering of replies met her and she hoisted herself up onto the stage that held her pole.

"Today shall be the last day for most of you to practice without any routines, so we shall begin by going over the moves that you have learned so far. You have by no means learned everything that you'll need to know, but I shall teach you anything new as and when we get to it. Got that?" She asked, daring anyone to speak up. "For the second half today we will be performing the moves to music, not in a specific sequence but to make sure that you have _some_ semblance of what time means."

"I'd have thought that the focus would be on the body rather than the timing." Claire muttered, smiling sweetly when Zoe eyes rested on her.

"Anything that you would like to say to the class?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Then do not talk while I am talking. You are not in the academy anymore."

Claire looked like she wanted to dispute that, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Right, we'll start with the 'sit' position. Would you like to demonstrate that?" She asked Claire, whose jaw tightened in response as she took up the challenge, quickly hoisting herself up and crossing her legs around the pole before precariously letting her arms stretch outwards. Zoe hopped off the stage and quickly circled the girl critically.

"Your elbows are bent." Zoe stated. "And how about straightening you back? You are a dancer, not a koala bear."

Taking a deep breath, Claire did so, and a smirk spread across her face when Zoe nodded in approval. "Better."

She then turned to Ino. "Yamanaka. Icon Splits."

Ino took a deep breath and quickly pushed her body into position, hooking her bottom foot around the pole and trying to keep her leg relatively straight as she held on, her hands clutching the pole where her higher calf lay. Not wanting to make the same mistake as Claire, she straightened her back and waited for Zoe's verdict.

"That's good. You can both get down now." Sighing in relief, Ino and Claire slid gracefully to the ground and turned to watch Zoe as the woman stood back in her place above the rest. Sakura sighed too, satisfied that she wouldn't be picked on for the time being, as did Akimi. Those who were quiet, it seemed, had a more comfortable place in Zoe's class.

"Eye opener." She ordered, and the class jumped to do as she said, Sakura's cheeks staining at the position she was in, her legs spread wide.

Gods, what if the club was actually in Konoha? What if _Naruto_ saw her like this? Wrapped up in her thoughts as she was, she came back to herself to find that everyone else had moved into the Caterpillar position, and scrambled to follow.

She would need a lot more practice.

"Why didn't you bring your things with you?" Ino asked, infuriated. "Now we have to rush back to yours and wait for you to do Kami knows what before going out!"

"You could go without me," Sakura reminded her. "It's not like I'd mind."

"Well I would! We haven't talked it ages!"

"We just had a class together, Ino. The third this week. And we meet up on Mondays also."

"We can't really chat properly then, y'know? It all has to be about the lessons…"

"Right." Sakura murmured. And what exactly was Ino going to talk about this evening? Oh, yeah. Probably the teachers. She hid a smirk. "Well, I shall try and be quick then, ok?"

"Ok!"

Their walk to her home quickly evolved into a discussion about their lessons, or rather dancing at the club rather than sex this time.

"Do you think you'll do more than one shift?" Ino asked musingly. "And where do you think it _is_? I mean, I've never seen one around here."

All of the girls shrugged, looking contemplative, except for Akimi.

"I think that Iruka said that it was on the outskirts of Konoha. Apparently it is out of the way of the main village so as to not be distasteful."

Claire snorted. "So what? These super horny blokes just saunter miles out of the way to watch naked birds who they're not allowed to touch? Yeah, must have a ton of business!" She rolled her eyes, and it was a testament to their lessons that none of the other girls blushed; although Akimi averted her gaze to the floor.

"I don't think that it is _just_ a strip club there. Iruka said that there is a spar and stuff too."

"Ooh, at least there's a spar!" Ino exclaimed.

"Who do you think will be there?" They wouldn't just tell everyone, surely? They couldn't possibly dance in front of the boys that they had played with as children, or the teachers that they had never thought of as anything other than what they were. She thought of Kakashi differently now for certain, she mused with a blush, and she'd become a little more comfortable with discussing Asuma and Kurenai, but… The others? How could she see them as anything else while she swung around a pole near-naked, bared to their critical gaze; compared to the other dancers?

She'd never felt shorter or flatter in her life.

Akimi worried her lip, her eyes cast down to watch the ground below her feet. "I don't know." She murmured. "I'm so glad that I'm not doing it; I think I would just die!"

Claire snorted. "You're too shy." She dismissed. "But you've got to come watch us, alright?"

The girl coloured, but nodded affirmatively. "Of course."

It was a relief for Sakura to hear those words. Now she knew that there would at least be someone who supported her, and would never heckle her flaws.

Well, if she couldn't get out of it.

"Do you think that I could specialize now, too?" She asked Akimi. "If I asked Kakashi about it, I mean?"

"I don't know. Most people will specialize later on unless they demonstrate a certain affinity for something, or in my case a fault, I guess. A couple of people have tried already, but I don't know if they've succeeded. If you're trying to get out of dancing though, then you're going to have to be careful about what you pick. Hinata, obviously specializing in women, still has to dance."

"Oh."

"What categories can you think of that would need it?" Ino mused. "I could always join Akimi… I mean, Asuma _is _married."

"Yeah, and I'll be he thinks of Kurenai when he fucks you." Claire sneered.

Ino coloured, her fists clenching with anger. "You're just jealous that I might get out of it, when _your _dancing is comparable to a sloth!" She hissed, the hurt in her voice picked up by her friends, who hung back with her as Claire stalked onwards, pausing when the leaf littered road forked.

After exchanging a look with Sakura, Akimi moved ahead, allowing the two to talk.

"You know she didn't mean that." Sakura told her bluntly, holding her eyes level. "Claire is just a bitch who is insecure because she wouldn't know the difference. How do you feel with him?" She asked, feeling a little like a psychologist, and paying minimal attention to the voice in the back of her head.

You don't wanna hear this, you don't wanna know, you don't want to hear this…

Still, she waited for the answer. To make sure that Ino was okay. To beat to death the idea that Claire might possible be right, not just about Asuma, but about the others as well.

Nobody could be that heartless, that… degrading, while teaching them to be whores, she thought bitterly, and mentally shook her thoughts away from memories; of a man who made her _feel_ and a man who made her feel like nothing.

"I was happy with him." Ino whispered, indecision painted on her pale features. "I hadn't thought of it like that. I only thought that he was wonderful and caring-" Her voice broke with a sob, and her eyes closed, defeated, as she leant into the arm that Sakura wrapped around her as she finished.

"…But then, with her, he would be."

"Do you love him?" Sakura found herself asking, and Ino appeared shocked.

"No, of course not! I've never even thought of that!"

"But you still behave as if you do. Couldn't he do that same? Care about him, I mean!" She elaborated quickly. "You still behave in the way that you want him to behave with you."

She frowned, worrying her lip. "I suppose." She murmured doubtfully. "How does Kakashi-sensei act with you?"

How had he acted before…or after? There was such a distinction, and Ino had no clue. Should she tell her, and let her throw things truly into proportion? He had been so cold, so hurtful. He had been so loving.

He had been everything, in a way that made her feel that she knew better. She couldn't tell Ino this; Ino who was worried about the _why_ without even considering the how. Instead, Sakura opened her lips and let out two single words.

"As expected."

They walked in silence, each girl caught up in her own thoughts as they kept pace with Akimi and Claire, walking together while walking alone.

The establishment had met their early evening buzz by the time that Sakura had gotten clean and dressed, in warmer items than before. She had put on a fluffy winter coat rather than a light jacket and found herself a little stifled while still wishing that she had put on her gloves. She wanted to feel entirely wrapped up. Her hair hung in uncharacteristic bunches (picked up off of Temari) that stuck out vividly when she raised her white hood.

Ichiraku's was at the heart, it's popularity greatly increased by Naruto's donations and fame. It had moved away from its old space several months ago. Now placed in a larger area with multiple tables surrounding the stall, Ichiraku's resembled a restaurant rather than a take-away although both options were kept open.

Out of necessity. Despite the enlargement, Naruto's loud endorsement made it difficult to get a table at peak times. Teuchi hadn't upped the prices yet though, bless him, despite the demand and his employing a couple of civilian girls who were desperate to serve the great Hero. And he always made room for his old customers; Iruka, Jiraiya and Team 7.

So long as there was room to be found. Sakura scowled as her eyes trailed over the packed tables looking for a space. Everywhere was full.

"Drat." Ino muttered. "Looks like the only hope we have is crashing Kaka-sensei's date."

"What?" Sakura's head swivelled quickly, draining of colour as she looked upon Kakashi with a woman, a short woman with long brunette hair. Short as in around Sakura's own height. With a lot more figure to show for it.

She sunk without moving, watching the woman. Replaying Claire's words, in Claire's tone. _I'll bet he thinks of her when he fucks you._

"I didn't know that Kakashi-sensei had a girlfriend!" Ino shrieked, and grabbed Sakura. "Why did you not tell me this?! I mean, everyone had been starting to wonder if he was gay…"

"Still could be." Claire muttered, turning away murderously.

"… But how long has this been going on?!"

"I don't know." Sakura murmured. "This is the first I've seen of it."

_I'll bet he thinks of her…._ Did it coincide with his change of heart? Was it her who deserved his care and attention? Was she the reason that this man, this usually strong and level headed man, had turned his bedroom into a kind of sweet dream?

Had he been only seeing her the first times? The worst. The times that she had wanted to forget. Was it any of her business?

"Everywhere looks full…"Akimi murmured. "Maybe we should go elsewhere."

Sakura looked up to find the other girl staring at her intently before nodding and giving her a smile. She was about to reply when that dreaded sound resurfaced.

"Why don't we go ask if we can sit with them?" Claire suggested innocently. "It looks like their table still has a little space."

"No," Sakura replied with a smile, and scratched the back of her neck in a way that reminded her all too much of her teammates. "I think I feel like barbeque."

"Yeah, I know a great place! Choji makes us get barbeque all the time!" Ino sang.

"We can go there then, yeah?" Sakura asked cheerily. "If everyone is alright with that of course."

Claire looked as if she wished to dispute, but Akimi smiled happily. "I haven't had barbeque in ages! Let's go!"

A huge twist in her stomach hit her as she turned away, and Sakura stayed silent, begging herself not to turn around even as Ichiraku's moved out of sight. Did he love her? Why was he with her? Did they discuss herself; little Sakura who Kakashi had to teach how to be a woman? Maybe they laughed about her. Maybe he had never mentioned her at all. Maybe that woman didn't care to know.

If Sakura were her, she wouldn't feel particularly threatened either.

Claire was speaking again, but Sakura didn't hear her, because she didn't try to. The other girl had caused more trouble than she was worth. Her actions were born of spite. Her lip twisted when the waiter recognized Sakura and said hello, blushing as he thanked her again for healing his leg. She didn't check her tongue, but Sakura paid no mind to her comments.

She didn't care, and she ate in silence before leaving alone, waving at Koji as she left. She didn't know how she found her way home but she did, and sat beside her bedroom window she watched as the sky darkened and lightened, kept awake by thoughts of her sensei and his lover.

**A/N – yeah, it's been too long! I completely forgot about this update… oops. I would like to thank the people who reviewed the last chapter by name :**

**MiMe, Rusala, Inume-blue, TcEm and Ninken ears. Hopefully people aren't losing interest! Clearly we have another problem…. O.O The chapters from now will probably not cover all the time, just events as the training progresses.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**Xxx**

**R&R**


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N - Sososososooooo sorry for how long it has been! I was busy to begin with, and then my laptop broke, taking with the original first 1000 words of this chapter. Still... there is no excuse for this lateness. Thank you as always to the lovely (lovely!) people who reviewed the last chapter, and I anticipate a faster update next time. **_ _**I'm feeling festive. The 150th reviewer can have a oneshot. (Don't feel guilty for fic-neglect at all!)**_ _**Thank you thank you thank you to WitchesRayne, the absolutely love of my life XD There should be a temple somewhere made for the praising of wonderful Beta readers. Instead, for now, I shall sadly have to stick to slightly creepy adoration. Unfortunately this chapter thus far has been edited only by myself, as I have neglected it for so long... feel happy guys!**_

Chapter 11

The next day's meeting prelude saw an exhausted Sakura accidentally knocking several bottles of moisturiser and hair products into the sink as she reached for a flat black brush to untangle her dripping wet hair; her other hand clutched her towel tightly to her. She'd been in the shower longer than usual in her preoccupied daze and it seemed that her decision to start getting ready forty five minutes early was going to be a saving grace. She'd surely be late without it. Still, she tied her hair into a knot at the base of her neck rather than drying it. Ino would have a fit.

The pink haired woman released an exasperated sigh as she pulled her jeans on. Her lazy towelling off had failed to do it's task and now the kunoichi had denim sticking to her slightly damp thighs, and her purple panties were clinging to her arse. Her bra and shirt didn't fare much better.

She tugged at her clothing, relentlessly forcing the material to smooth before applying some concealer to cover her heavy eyes and pale face. Looking at herself critically, she added a little eyeliner and lip gloss too. By the time that she headed for the door, she still wasn't feeling complete. She tugged black boots on that matched her long black coat and left after almost stumbling out without her keys.

Ino was thankfully home when Sakura called, and so they spoke together as they walked over to the academy. Ino didn't seem anywhere near as bad as Sakura did. Her cheeks had a healthy pink glow and her make-up was immaculate as usual.

"You alright?" Sakura asked as Ino closed her front door.

"Yeah," She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I was feeling pretty bad yesterday but once I ran it through my head I realised that Claire is just a bitch. And I sort of talked it over with Asuma this morning - sort of rather than properly- and I think that she was just deliberately being mean. Besides, Asuma wouldn't ever do anything like that anyway, y'know?"

"Good," Sakura murmured. "I don't think _any_ of the teachers actually would do that." She lead on but felt herself sink slightly when Ino didn't take the bait and instead opted to focus on Claire.

"That girl is just so horrible, you know? I bet that is why she transferred. We don't want her here already, so where she was before people must have gotten really sick of her and her bitchy ways. It wasn't even that it was aimed at me, because her comments reflected badly on Asuma too."

"True. Claire is just petty. She thought that she'd be better than you at the dancing as well, but you showed her up. I think she might just feel threatened by you."

"Rubbish." Ino waved her hand as if to bat away the ridiculous notion. "She thinks that she is better than me. There is a very obvious difference. Besides, did you see the way that she tried to make us stay as Ichiraku's? She wanted to cause problems for you and Kakashi as well."

"Yeah, I noticed. She actually wanted to stay so that she could watch me suffer even after I said that I hadn't known about her. Claire is just so inconsiderate, -"

"Oh, do you know who she is yet?"

"No. I haven't spoken to Kakashi today."

"Why not? Didn't you have a lesson?"

"No. We'll arrange one after the meeting."

Ino shrugged. "I suppose different teachers do things differently, but I find it really annoying that there isn't a set amount of hours per week or anything to work to; I mean we don't know if we are doing more or less than the others. Surely any teacher that is putting in more time is giving their kunoichi an advantage? Maybe you should go ask Kakashi for more lessons."

_Yeah right._ "I don't know. I was thinking of going to get some hospital shifts from Tsunade. Medics are useful on sed. missions in case there is anyone that needs to be saved or may have grievous injuries. If I get up to the next medical nin level while doing the kunoichi course then I should theorretically get the even higher paid missions."

Ino nodded. "And you'll be specialised in something."

Sakura frowned. "I'll still have to do the dance stuff though."

"Yes, but you'll only get those sorts of missions, because you'll be less expendable."

Would she be less expendable to Kakashi? Wouldn't she then be of more use to him once her medic skills had improved? Team 7 still took missions as a joint unit, as they always would until they came to the decision to disband. He would be more admiring once he saw her work in the field... Or at least she hoped he would. How would he behave today?

Her jaw clenched as she thought it through. It all depended on if he knew that she'd seen him with that woman. If he cared about her thoughts at all. Which he probably didn't.

"Sak!" Sakura came back from her thoughts with a yelp as Ino pulled her away from a tree on the edge of the Inuzuka territory.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Ino laughed. "What would I do if I lost my best mate to the hounds?" Which was very possible. Sakura wrinkled her nose. If the tree had touched her then so would some other... substances. And she didn't need all of the dogs in Konoha to jump her for want to claim something belonging to Kiba's mangy dogs. Sakura pushed the thought from her mind with a shudder and shrugged.

"Find a new one?"

"I wouldn't be able to find one with as big a forehead as you."

Sakura grinned but didn't comment. Her thought were still mostly on Kakashi and she only spared enough attention to get to the academy without any more mishaps. Her stomach was a jumble as it neared closer and had the sky dimmed slightly? The noise as the entered the building seemed masked over to her, barely rising in volume as she neared closer, vaguely hearing it sink through her bubble.

The door opened; Ino was walking in front and Sakura shut it softly behind her, turning to find Kakashi almost directly to the side of her instead of in his usual seat. Asuma sat beside him, an unlit cigarette between his lips. A couple of empty seats lay between them and Ino sank down quickly in the one closest to her sensei.

"Don't we usually sit at the back?"

"Yes, but the she-bitch has stolen our corner."

"Tut tut." Kakashi's voice murmured and Sakura jumped as she took her seat. "What would Kurenai do if she heard you using such language?"

"She won't hear me. She's over there, lezzing it up with Anko the Witch herself." It was true. Anko was in the corner, despite lacking a chunin companion of her own. She seemed to have gathered some recently though, as well as their leaders. The _female_ teachers, Sakura noted wryly. All the men appeared to be steering clear of her.

Kakashi tilted his head down to the two girls, his eye happily creased. "Asuma is slightly miffed that Anko has stolen both his territory and his mate. This is typical dog behaviour."

Sakura frowned. _Riiight_. She didn't comment however, only watched him as the bickering continued. The time seemed to crawl, and she began to watch him intently as her mind wandered. She was almost thankful to be interrupted.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Iruka called and everyone turned to glance around them, Sakura included. She could see Ino, Akimi and Tenten, and she knew that Hinata was in Anko's corner, each with their respective partners. She knew full well that Kakashi was there, after all he kept invading her line of sight through no effort of his own. He appeared unruffled, his appearance exactly that which was usual for him. There was nothing different in his behaviour with Asuma either. Maybe he'd been seeing that woman from the start.

"Anyone missing?" He called again, checking the group when the door quietly opened and in came Claire, blonde hair ruffled and nose in the air.

"Sorry we're late," She apologised loudly, and strode over to sit at the front of the room, her sensei quickly taking a seat beside her. She kept her head high, but fidgeted under the curious stares of her classmates.

"Why sit at the front if you don't want anyone to stare?" Sakura muttered snidely.

"Yeah." Ino muttered. "She is literally _asking _for it. And after turning up late no less."

"How does she think she is going to be a kunoichi if she can't even be punctual?!"

"Perhaps," Kakashi drawled, eye piercing. "You two ladies ought to be more concerned about yourselves. I would have thought that those who had space to preech would have their eyes and their minds on the person speaking. Don't you?"

And then his head turned back to face Iruka, Ino and Sakura following, their cheeks aflame. Their eyes met, but neither of them dared to say a word.

_And now he thinks even less of me!_ Sakura scowled. Who was he to talk? He always appeared to be half asleep, his posture slouched and his eyelid heavy. She had been told to concentrate by a man who fought with his nose in a book! Her eyes shifted to him, sliding over his face as she scrutinised him. Mere seconds later, he met her gaze out of the corner of his eye and nodded to the front. Further embarrassed, she complied. This episode found itself repeated a couple more times. He had to realise that something was wrong with the way that she was staring at him. She flicked her gaze to him again surreptitiously, silently begging him to notice. She wanted him to speak to her, to ask her what was wrong. She envisioned it, her eyes glazing over.

_"Sakura," He murmured, turning to face her. "What's wrong? You keep staring at me."_

_"I-uh, I'm sorry sensei." She flushed and lifted her chin. "Who is that woman that you were with the other day at Ichiraku's?"_

_"Why does it matter?" He asked mockingly._

_"Do you think of her when you fuck me?"_

_"What?"_

_"That woman." She enunciated carefully. "Do you think of her when you're with me?"_

_For a few moments that stretched for miles they stared at each other, one in shock and one in misery. Her heart was pounding inher ears and she ducked her head as tears welled in her eyes. She scrunched them shut, willing them away. Her attempts were fruitless, and a mere moment later the clear liquid was cascading down her cheeks before being scooped away by warmth._

_Her eyes opened and she blinked hazily at the sight before her. Her sensei's expression was inscrutable, his breathing hitched. His arms was reached out, cupping her face in his tilted her head back and claimed her lips, gently clinging in a way that made her melt._

_She hadn't noticed him take the mask off, becau-_

Because it wasn't real. Obviously.

Sakura growled low in her throat and let her head hit the desk with a thud. It was bordering on ridiculous now; she was actually starting to fantasize outside of the comfort of her own home! She lifted her with a resolve to par attention... only to find her gaze met head on by her curious Sensei.

_Great. Now he must think I'm a proper nutjob... Ichiraku girl is probably not crazy!_

Sakura kept her eues on the front but her ears in her head until she was interrupted by the screech of chairs and the increase in chatter. Kakashi stood to her side, chair tucked in and staring at her expectantly. He didn't comment as he kept pace with her to walk out of the academy. Instead, he paused when they reached the swing a few feet away, brushing the leaves off and seating himself on top of it. A breeze blew strongly, forcing the neat pile of leaves onward, and silver tresses to whip around Kakashi's face. Sakura's eyes scrunched in response to the cool air and she wrinkled her nose to resist a sudden urge to sneeze.

"If you are more interested in this course than the last hour and a half has led me to believe, I suggest that you be on time to our lesson tomorrow." His deep voice said softly. "I shall expect you after your dance class, if you are to attend that too."

Sakura flushed with anger and opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, only to find herself silenced by somethig in the way that he was looking at her. His eye had softened and his features, well what she could see of them, held something akin to concern. "Are you alright?" He asked her. "Is there anything distracting you?" _Here's your chance! Go for it!_

"No," She whispered, the words tasting like cotton in her mouth. "There's nothing bothering me." He inclined his head.

"Good. Then I shall see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan." Hearing finality in his tone, Sakura turned to leave, all the while cursing herself for not saying anything while she had the chance. _He gave you the opportunity to speak. You didn't say anything because you knew that you had no right to. He is not yours. _She would not let him see how much it was bothering her. It was as if he knew. He probably did, and that was why he had asked her. That was it! He was deliberately trying to provoke her, and there was no way in her that it was going to work!

She wondered aimlessly throughout the village, allowing her thoughts to come as they would. She found herself, after milling through the dwindling groups of people, close to the hospital where she had spent so much of her time training. Well, she'd been planning on getting some more medical work, hadn't she? The young kunoichi marched determindely up to the hospital, feeling a familiar warmth as she walked through the door and was greeted by heating, a hospital smell, and the welcomes of her colleagues. Shizune was manning the main desk, typing furiously. After a while, the crease between her eyes smoothed out and Sakura spoke.

"Is Shishou in?" She asked quietly, smiling at the older woman who nodded. "Yes. Third floor. It's good to see you Sakura. Are you still going to work hospital shifts, or are you wholly a field medic now?"

"Field at the moment, but I am _hoping _to get some hospital shifts from Tsunade..." She trailed off sweetly. "Hey, you could put me on the roster though, couldn't you Shizune?"

She laughed freely, her dark hair swinging a little from the clips that held it back. "Not you I can't! You will need to go see the Hokage on that one, and I don't want anything disturbing my patients, got that clear?"

"As clear as clear can be." Sakura didn't pass anyone else on her way up to the third floor, but she hadn't expected to. Visiting hours were over, and it was a quiet time of day for the hospital unless anyone new had been brought in. A few groups had, nothing major but taxing in number and Sakura left twenty minutes later with a schedule for the next month and a slight guilty feeling for taking advantage of Tsunade's distraction. Her first shift was set for Wednesday, and the schedule had been worked around her dance lessons. Her lessons with Kakashi would have to be worked around both, and once she had returned home Sakura pencilled in a schedule of all three to present to Kakashi the next day. She fell asleep happy, organised, and content that she had something to take her mind off of the silver haired shinobi that haunted her dreams.

Her dance lesson the next day was a mix of fear and excitement of telling Kakashi her new plans. She had been told not to fill her time, because her lessons with him were most important. But hospital work could be a part of her work with him, once she spoke with Tsunade about some specialised training that she wanted to do. If need be, Shizune could teach her; Shizune was both her weaker and her superior. While Sakura had taken less time to master more effectively some of their teacher's techniques, Shizune had a far larger range of specialised knowledge. Shizune fought to learn everything, including that which was irrelevant to her. Shizune had also seen kunoichi tortured on missions. That alone meant that she would have prepared as much medical ninjutsu as she could for the situation. She also would want to part with it. There was some knowledge that would be beneficial to be the sole holder of. This was not in that category.

She showered in the Academy after, trying to be quick enough that Kakashi would not be able to reprimand her lateness. _As if he has room to talk!_ And so she left without drying her hair and shuddered at the feel of it wetting her shirt as it dripped down her neck and under her coat. He was waiting for her, swinging gently on the seat where he had sat the last time that they had spoken. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes were on the ground. She shivered, but she didn't care about her hair anymore. She watched him for a couple of moments before approaching him slowly with a lightness of foot that existed purely for the art of observing. He knew that she was there of course; she was the reason for his being there.

She swallowed thickly as she came up beside him, the swing level with her hip. He gave another gentle push and brushed against her before rising gracefully off of the swing, his arms not needing to reach out for balance. He nodded to her, and they began to move.

"Good lesson?" He asked quietly, and she nodded.

"Yes, very. We're very immersed in routines now." She continued. Her mind was blank and she carried on talking as if it would dissolve the tension. "The moves are easier once set in motion and sequence."

He nodded his head again, and the rest of the walk was spent in silence. They went straight to the bedroom, and Sakura gasped with wide eyes at the sight before her.

"We have here some of the 'no's and some of the 'maybe's." He idly selected a long, thin brown strip with a thick handle, and-

_Oh my Kami! A __**whip**__! _"And this you actually ticked yes to."

"That's a weapon!" She shrieked, sobbing down a gasp of air, her voice shrill. "Do you want to hurt me?!"

"Would you like to see your form again?" He retaliated. "I think that you have ticked a number of things that you are not prepared for." He sighed, and pulled something out from it's place underneath something rubber and threatening. "No matter. I suggest you read through and research thoroughly."

With shaking hands and wide eyes set into a pale face, Sakura watched as Kakashi swept the assorted objects into a box. When it clicked shut and was kicked under the bed, she relaxed miniscutely. He reached out for her, his hand warm against the clammy skin of her neck.

"Alright?" He asked.

She nodded dumbly, leaning into his touch. Her tongue slowly wet her lips and she leaned forward to press them precariously against his. Relief flooded her veins when he responded gently. He moved her slowly closer to him in anembrace that could only be termed a cuddle. There was nothing erotic in the way that he was holding her. That was made up for by his mouth.

As his arms tightened, his tongue claimed her, snaking in and licking torturously, entwining with her own. He elicited a faint gasp, and then a stronger moan as he gripped her tighter. He didn't overly tease with his hands anymore; they firmly found their way to her arse and her breast, quickly gripping and playing perfectly.

It was almost enough to make her forget the toys under the bed. Almost, but not quite yet.

Their clothes were gone in seconds, thrown haphazardly across the dim room. They didn't remove them seductively or flaunt their undergarments. They simply tore them off, but neither of them cared.

It was bound to be quick from the start. Quick and intense.

There were no lingering touches, only a wave of heat and the realisation that she was far too ready to be comfortable with dithering. She was allowing him to engulf her thoughts. He was taking over, slowly but surely claiming her completely. He kissed her roughly as he entered her, his lips parting from hers for only moments at a time to gasp against her shoulder or nip along her neck. He plucked at her nipples and pressed the heel of his palm against her clit, coming into contact as she rocked against him. They were sweaty, they were gasping, they were a far cry from the unsure tentative lovers of past lessons. Their movement were harsh and they came hard, panting and gutterly groaning as their faces contorted with pleasure.

He didn't move off of her as they came back down, and she welcomed the weight, inside her and around her. She was wearing a blanket that was entirely Kakashi, and wanted to protest when he moved off of her to lift the duvet over them. He came back to her before she could protest, pushing a lazy, lingering kiss against her lips while he stroked her hair. After a while, his lips slowed and his head hit the pillow.

"Six-thirty tomorrow?" He asked softly, and she began to nod, only to remember what she had been so eager to talk to him about.

"I can't. I have a hospital shift tomorrow."

"You are working at the hospital again?" He asked sharply, but Sakura in her lethargic state did not catch it. She only snuggled closer as she mumbled affirmatively.

"I have a schedule worked out," She yawned. "To fit in you, the dance lessons and the hospital. How about Thursday eight o'clock?"

Her eyes opened fully as the warmth was removed from her. Kakashi was sat up, one leg off of the bed.

"I am busy." He told her coldly. "And it is not your job to arrange these _meetings_. I set the time, and if you value this _experience_ then you shall show up. Am I clear?"

"I have already fixed the times with the hospital." She resonded tightly, clutching the duvet to her naked chest. The movent drew her sensei's gaze down to her chest where it lingered scorchingly.

"You should have spoken to me. I am in charge here Sakura, and if I say that you cannot work while on this course then it is so. If it turns out that you need to, then that is arranged by me. But I am not going to arrange my schedule around your little whims. Trying to be top of the class again Sakura? You should know by now that there are things more important."

Tears began to prick hotly in the corners of her eyes, and Sakura fought to keep her lips from twisting into a pitiful grimace. "What is so important? Why don't you just look at my schedule and offer a more fitting time then?"

"There should be no _schedule_. And what I am doing is my own business." He told her icily, rising from the bed and shrugging into a black dressing gown. He knotted it around his waist, and turned to face her, his arms crossed.

"Are you going to see _her_ again?"

"Sakura you are going to have to be more specific. I know a lot of women."

That was the problem, Sakura realised as the tears spilled over. He knew a lot of women. And he could have as many of them as he wanted. He probably did.

"You were at Ichiraku's with her the other day. She's pretty. Quite short, brown hair. Good figure." Sakura snapped.

"She is also none of your business." Kakashi told her calmly. He was stood tall before her, so unconcerned.

Maybe he had no reason to. But maybe he didn't care at all. Sakura glanced away from him, fidgeting and blinking rapidly before allowing the question to break loose.

"What is she to you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That is none of your business. For now I am going to have to eight oclock. Bring your schedule, and tell the hospital that they are going to need to change it to what I decide."

Sakura opened her mouth to shout at him, only to find nothing to say. She became aware of the tears dripping into her mouth and closed it before speaking quietly, her eyes darting away from him.

"Fine." And then she picked up her clothes, dressed with muffled sobs, and left. All the while ignoring the eye that she knew was watching her.

**A/N- ...SOoooo, worth that wait? :P (don't answer that!) I didn't know if people would like me to elaborate on the objects, and that part of things so I skimmed over it. There may be some hints later, or a scene at most, but that would be by demand and written by myself rather than a knock-off ofsomething else.**

**Best not to turn into Fifty Shades of Shit Story (Don't shoot me!)**

**Anyhoodle... R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - I am sincerely sorry for the formatting errors in the last chapter, as well (once again) as the gap between the last chapter and this. I crashed a car on Monday and I have my first AS level exam on the seventh so...Wait until the end of next week to hurl abuse, ok? XD Thank you as always to my lovely reviewers, and 150th reviewer gets a oneshot!**

**Any errors are currently my own, and I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 12

When she awoke the next morning, Sakura felt restlessness hit even before her eyes were fully open, and kicked her duvet to the floor in a temper. The night before was still fresh in her mind, unaffected by her having slept on it. She knew already that she would be in for a fight.

She'd have to go to the hospital and somehow keep her position there while changing her shifts to times that she didn't even know yet. She'd also have to go through and fully understand her list, she remembered. She bolted upright and squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clasped tightly to the back of her head as she let out a whimper. Ought she to go to Ino and the others? They may have already done it after all. Moaning again, Sakura flopped back down onto her back and picked up her laptop from its space beside her bed. After a slight struggle, she was covered in her duvet again, propped up by pillows and balancing the laptop on her knees while staring at the Google homepage.

On second thoughts, she got up a private browsing window. She didn't, after all, want to find that pop-ups for BDSM websites still waved their hello's months later. That was one word that she definitely understood already, from when she researched it before. She lazing waited for her abysmal connection to load a list of results, clicked the first one and began to watch.

It was hours later that she was shaken from her bubble of morbid curiosity to find herself still in bed and dishevelled. She wasn't dressed, she hadn't eaten, her hair was a mess and now she had another problem to take care of. She was uncomfortably het up, covered in a light sheen of sweat with her eyes wide and her heart pounding. Her mouth felt dry as she marvelled at the state that she had gotten herself into. Her arms were tensed on the keyboard and her body was hunched forwards as that infernal buzz ran through her.

It was suddenly suffocating, and far too intimate to discuss with Ino. Although she might be able to tell her first hand... Sakura took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Any of the others could be able to tell her, unless they had all been given the forms back. Which she wouldn't know without asking. But what if they hadn't? The forms had had a deadline after all, meaning that once they had been handed in the curriculum as such had been set. Kakashi had given hers back.

With a sudden surge of decision, Sakura folded the list back up, put her laptop aside and headed for the shower. By the time she got out, her hair was clean and her body lavender scented, but she was just as worked up as before.

She towelled herself off thoroughly and got out the dust covered hair dryer from under her bed in an attempt to fill the time before her shift. Once dried and dressed in a crisply ironed hospital uniform, she lingered over a bowl of musli, glaring off into space. She lifted the spoon to her mouth only to have the milk drop back down onto the polished wood table with every thought that distracted her.

Images played through her mind in imperfect sequence. Potential discussions with the girls, rearranging hospital shifts, herself and Kakashi in place of the men and woman that she had spent the morning watching. Again, her heart began to pound and her body thrummed excitedly. She didn't even know if she wanted to do it. She had been damn near horrified the last time that she had seen these things. Suddenly, she was told to look again, and she wasn't.

It all seemed oddly appealing when she saw it now, but it wasn't supposed to be, was it? She was supposed to learn to carry on functioning despite those events. To catch people who used those sorts of things on people. To seduce men with those _particular_ tastes.

And if they were her targets, then obviously something that they did was wrong. They used them on unwilling people of course. Willing people wouldn't ask for help.

Sakura dumped her half eaten cereal in the bin and placed the bowl and spoon in the sink, resolving to clean again once she got home. She left the house, feeling an odd calm claim her as she neared the hospital. Automatically, she had regained control, instinct telling her how imperitive it would be for her work.

This had been a _very_ good choice indeed.

Shizune wasn't at the desk when Sakura entered, nor Tsunade anywhere in sight, so Sakura got herself cleaned and onto the wards to begin her shift, putting the problem of schedules into the back of her mind for later. So far back, that by the end of her shift she still hadn't sought out her superior. With a sigh, Sakura washed her hands again and went to sort out her final patient. A minor injury that was quickly solved; Genin always kept her in practice with sprains.

It was a regular day for the hospital, with no large squads or critical injuries to heal. As such, everything was fast paced but simple. Routine tasks that Sakura was glad for. She passed several other workers as she made her way down the hall and down the stairs to the front desk. She walked quickly, still holding her work pace, her body geared up to get stuff done. As such, she wouldn't usually walk into any patients or visitors; they usually walked slowly. The staff had all become quite adept at avoiding each other in corridors.

Some unsuspecting runner of the halls hadn't though, and Sakura found herself apologising profusely while holding her arms out to steady the redhead who had crashed into her. She stepped back the same moment as the girl did, lifting her head a little to display a split lip dribbling blood, and the purple of a bruised cheek.

"Claire!" She gasped. "Have you been fixed up or-"

"I'm fine," The other girl snapped, wrapping her arms around her to hold her cardigan tightly. "I've been _sorted out_." She hissed, her words lilted at the end. She stormed ahead, leaving Sakura flabbergasted. After several moments, Sakura followed, but Claire had already gone.

"Sakura," A cheery voice called, and Sakura turned back, stepping away from the doors.

"Shizune?" She asked.

"Good shift?"

"Yeah- uh," Sakura fidgeted. "Do you mind if I change my shifts?"

"Sure. I've got a minute now, if you're not busy?"

"Umm, yeah." Sakura pulled the schedule from her pocket and walked over to the desk. "I don't really know what they need to be yet though. Could I just tell you tomorrow what I want them to be?"

"You sure? Hatake-san dropped by earlier with a new schedule for you." Shizune spun in her chair and swiped up a piece of paper that was precariously balanced on top of a large stack. "Was this it?"

On autopilot, Sakura took the list from her and scanned it. She hadn't seen this before. She looked it over thoughtfully. This was probably the only schedule that Kakashi was going to offer her. She might as well take it. But why had Kakashi bothered sorting it out for her anyway?

She nodded dumbly, handing back the paper to Shizune, who shook her head. "It's on the system. That's your copy."

"Thanks."

Shizune smiled and Sakura turned to move away when the older woman piped up again. "And can you tell Hatake-san to come in for a checkup?"

"Um, yeah. Sure."

Still clutching the paper in front of her, Sakura left. She paid no attention to her surroundings on the walk home, but somewhere in the back of her mind she noted a male voice calling out her name.

888

Sakura woke up late the next day, feeling largely unsettled. She pondered as she lay in bed, wondering about Kakashi's sudden shift in behaviour, what would happen at their lesson, and why Claire had needed the hospital. The girl's messed red hair and puffy eyes stood in her mind, but there was nothing that she could do about it. She wouldn't be seeing her again until dance anyway, and probably ought to keep quiet about it. Confidentiality and all that.

She also had to give her list one last run through before handing it back to Kakashi. She hadn't changed anything yet, and her unease grew with the idea of it. She twisted her fingers into her duvet with uncertainty before getting out of bed to dig up a bowl of musli. Scowling at the near empty packet, she tipped the remainder into her bowl and made a mental note to go shopping. Again. She placed the list open beside her to read through while she ate.

She didn't have to meet Kakashi until eight, so Sakura got the shopping done first, spending longer than usual in the different stores. She dithered over different items as she allowed her thoughts to continue straying. Perhaps she should go spend some time with Ino again? Get another opinion?

Once again, as Sakura lifted an apple from the stand, she heard that voice calling what sounded like her name. Giving a cursory look around, she turned back to the fruit.

"Sakura!" She heard again. A few seconds later, and a hand touched her shoulder, startling her despite the warning. She jumped and turned, staring at the brown haired male in front of her. She blinked.

"Koji! How are you?"

"I'm good," He smiled crookedly. "Haven't fallen over anything in the last few days. How about you?"

"I'm okay," She smiled. "I've been quite busy recently, so I'm at a loss of what to do today."

"Yeah, I mean," Koji scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I tried to talk to you yesterday, but I guess you didn't hear me. Or maybe you were busy or-"

"Oh." Sakura frowned slightly. "I did think I hear someone talking at me, but I wasn't paying attention." She raised a hand to her face. "I'm so sorry, I just was completely out of it, I'd just finished work and-"

He grinned. "Hey, no biggie! But I do insist that we grab some lunch together now. If you're not busy?"

Sakura shrugged. "Alright. Um, where do you wanna go? I've just done a load of shopping," She offered, holding up the bag. "We could go back to mine, or go somewhere else?"

"How about a walk down the river?" Koji mumbled."The trees are starting to blossom..."

Trees. Blossom. As in Sakura. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sakura pasted on a large smile and nodded. "Sure. I'll just grab a couple more picnicy things then."

"I got it," He smoothly took the shopping basket from her, and wandered over to the snack isle, quickly sifting through and occasionally asking for a preference. He made quick work of it, and a mere couple of minutes later he was done and paid. He nodded at the bags still in my hands. Does any of that need to be put away, or is it alright as it is?"

"Um.." Sakura glanced down at the bags in her hands. Milk, butter, eggs. "Some of this needs to be put away.I'll just run and do it quickly if that's okay? We could meet by-"

"It's fine I'll come with you." He smiled. "Unless you ninja need to hide your homes?"

"Oh,no, that's fine."

The pair wandered slowly down the street, the medic leading the way as the ambled in silence, each of them trying to think of something to say.

"So, why are you so busy?" He asked slowly. "Anything important?"

"No, I've just been training."

"What for?"

"Nothing in particular. Just routine training for the usual kind of missions."

He smiled. "So nothing disturbing is happening then?"

"No," Sakura smiled. "You and your clumsy feet don't have to worry."

"Phew." He grinned widely. "I heard some ninja's talking the other day; when I hurt my leg, y'know? I don't know what they were talking about but they sounded slightly distressed."

Sakura kept her smile in place as she reassured him. "Genma probably just forgot someone's birthday, or the name of some bird that he's slept with. Ninja's do have normal lives too, y'know?"

"Other than the missions, and the kunai and the chakra and stuff."

"Yeah, other than that."

Secrety though, Sakura began to wonder too. Maybe that was what Kakashi was busy with. Maybe he was supposed to be working with something big, and instead had winded up training her. Maybe that was why he changed her schedule himself rather than making her do it. She frowned deeply, and Koji turned his head to watch her as they walked.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm distracted." She forced a smile back onto her face. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing in particular," He replied, scratching some hair behind his ear. "Just work mainly." He glanced up. "And the few times that I have ran into you."

"Well, hopefully this will be slightly more fun." She told him. "Sorry about this." She lifted the bags to swing beside her shoulder, only to have Koji take them into his hands as she went to put her hands down.

"I've got them."

Sakura stared intently at him for a moment before nodding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The rest of the walk was spent with idle chatter and light questions about likes, dislikes, work and family. It was pleasant, and Sakura quickly found herself relaxing with him, although she couldn't shake his earlier words. _They sounded slightly distressed._

Unlocking the door slighty awkwardly as Koji watched, Sakura invited him in, kicking some shoes out of the way as she went.

"You dress up often?" He asked lightly, and Sakura turned to see one black high heel hooked onto Koji's trainer as he lifted it for her to see. She snatched it up quickly and tossed it aside.

"They're not for going out. They're for dancing."

"Ah," He nodded, and a sly grin took over again. "What kinda dancing?"

_Exactly the type that you are thinking of._ "Ballroom." Sakura bluffed, pleased when he nodded thoughtfully. Her smugness faded when he replied.

"Cool. Maybe we could go dance sometime."

"I'd like that." She smiled, and turned into the kitchen. She called behind her. "The kitchen is through here."

Koji followed and placed her bags onto the tabletop, hovering against the edge as Sakura began to unpack the bags. "Would you like a cup of tea of anything, or should we just get going?"

"It's up to you," Koji fidgeted. "If you want a break first then that is absolutely fine, but it's really nice outside. I'm really happy about our picnic." He said, a sheepish smile on his face completed by an eye-crinkle to rival Kakashi.

"Ok, I just need a couple of minutes, ok?" Sakura smiled and hastily ran up to her room. She checked her hair in her wood-framed mirror, tugging a comb through it and spraying. She then added lipgloss, sucked on a breathmint and put on an extra layer of deoderant.

It was just a picnic with someone she barely knew, but she might as well make a good impression. She certainly didn't want to make a bad one, and have Koji teased for being around a girl who smelt like shit and looked like she'd been tugged through a hedge backwards.

He was perusing a book shelf when Sakura emerged and turned at the sound of her footsteps. "You ready?" He asked, and Sakura nodded. They had a blissfully undisturbed lunch, interrupted only by Ino and Hinata's wink as they passed her in giggles. Sakura sighed; they would want the details. Thankfully, they opened the conversation up somewhat as the pair began exchanging stories of their friends' antics, and the time passed quicker than Sakura could have imagined.

So quickly in fact, that by the time she closed the door on him, she was scrambling to get ready for her lesson with Kakashi. She showered thoroughly, as if her body were caked in something other than soap and shampooed her hair twice before conditioning. She was too wrapped up in getting ready to realise that there were other things to do.

Like allowing time to find anything that mysteriously becomes lost.

Sakura entered the kitchen, still drying her hair, to pick up her list. Only to find that it was no longer where she had left it.

The towel hit the floor.

"Oh, shit!" Sakura hissed, and immediately fluttered around the kitchen in a good impression of a garish bird. "Shit, shit, shiiiiit."

Ten minutes later, she still hadn't found said list (or brushed her half dry hair) and left in a panic. Luckily too much of a panic to notice the stares that her bird's nest was attracting.

Sakura pasted on a calm face as she raised a hand to knock on the door, finding that it opened before her fist hit. She shrugged and lowered her hand. "Hey."

He nodded and nudged her through the door. "Are you alright Sakura?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He arched a brow. "Is there anything that you want to tell me?" He asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Call it... _jonin instinct_."

"No, umm, do you happen to have a spare copy of the list? I seem to have misplaced mine. I'm sorry sensei."

Kakashi watched her for a few moments, her head bent to stare at her feet. Her knotted hair fell in front of her face in tangled waves.

"Was there anything that you changed?" He asked slowly. "I can get you another list if you want to go over it, but is there anything off the top of your head?"

"No, sensei. Nothing needs changing."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Good."

"Don't you need my answers?" She asked in a mumble, and his jaw tightened.

"I've memorised it, Sakura, I only need to know if anything needs changing. However, can you tell me what would happen if this were a mission?"

"I-uh." She swallowed loudly. "I would at the very least be docked pay for carelessness, but the effects on the mission could be disasterous. I could endanger teammates, the mission and myself. I am sorry sensei."

"Sorry doesn't solve it, so stop apologising. Where did you last have the list?"

"At home. It was on my kitchen table."

"You didn't take it outside?"

"No."

The silver haired ninja considered for a moment. "Good. As you know, a great many of the men in the village are completely clueless as to this type of training. It would not do for any of them to see the list."

Sakura nodded, and he continued. "Especially a list holding _our_ names. How do you think it would look to them?"

Something in Sakura clicked, and her head snapped up to look at him, her mouth opening only to be stopped by Kakashi raising a finger to her mouth.

"Do you understand?" He asked quietly as his features softened.

"Yes, sensei." She whispered.

"Anything else you want to talk about?" He asked coldly, and Sakura debated with herself internally while Kakashi watched in hidden amusement.

"Thank you for changing my shifts and the hospital, sensei." She said quietly. "Can I ask why you did it, rather than simply telling me today what times to change it to?"

He inclined his head briefly. "I realise that I may have been a little strict with you last time, and honestly as long as the shifts are changed there is no reason for me to make you do it. Also, it is probably best to let the hospital know of changes sooner rather than later. I don't know if it would have gone down as well if you had requested the changes."

"Thank you." She whispered, astounded by the thoughtfullness that had replaced the anger of their last meeting. How had he turned around so easily? He smirked back at her.

"Now... I have a game."

"Oh?" She asked quietly, slighty wary beneath her returning smirk. They'd played games quite often in the passed weeks to keep things light and natural, but it was too sudden a turn about of mood for her. She was stil expecting to chastised somewhat more than she had been. He was calm and playful. Maybe the game had a twist?

"There are objects hidden in each room. There aren't the same amount in each, so you will have to be thorough in your search."

"You want to play hide and seek?" Sakura asked flatly, but Kakashi's grin widened.

"You will search on your hands and knees, naked."

Sakura laughed her response. "Fine by me. What am I looking for?"

"You are looking for some of the things that were on your list. I will time you," He said, pulling a stopwatch from his trouser pocket. "You have five minutes. We will then create a list. The things that you find are put into place by you, however the things that you don't find are ordered by me. That will be the order in which each of these things are tried. Understand?"

"Are the lists seperate or combined?"

"Combined. I make my list, then you can fit your items in where you want them. Got it?" He asked, and she nodded. "Strip."

**A/N - Sorry to leave it there (fairly short), but I wanted to make certain to post today rather than a longer chapter possibly a week away. I think it contains enough confusion for now anyhoodle. All shall become clear! **

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - This chapter is completely unnecessary for the plot, and simply exists because I wanted to write it :P It is a continuation of the last chapter, and is purely Sakura and Kakashi's game. Honestly just a smush of kinkiness. Smut alert and... Warnings: BDSM (for example... things of a clampy nature) PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS SORT OF THING! Any complaints will most likely be ignored. **

**The winner of our little contest is Toreh, who's gift fic is now posted under the title Desirable. Go check it out, and thank you as always to everyone who reviewed! :D**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**

**Chapter 13**

Sakura removed her clothes quickly, a simple action of swiping off and folding each garment rather than giving a strip tease. It didn't matter. The game would do the teasing for them both, and his eyes were on her body regardless.

"Hands and knees." He reminded her as she finally added her socks to the pile, and she immediately complied. As such, she missed the tiny shake of laughter that her sensei bestowed on the girly white socks she wore adorned with pink flowers and hearts. Usually everything she wore matched, but he bit his lip to keep from commenting.

He dangled the stopwatch in front of her, and her eyes followed it.

"Three... two... one... go!" His thumb hit the button and Sakura lumbered as quickly as she could into the living room. As predicted she went straight for the coffee table, flattening her body to the ground in order to be able to see under it.

Also as expected, she jumped and hit her head on the dark wood with a loud 'thump!'.

A large black object hit her chest and Sakura swiped it off of her with a loud scream. A piercing one, one that caused the silver-haired ninja to flinch as he slouched over to it and held the terrifying object over her face.

It was a _fake_ spider.

Made of rubber.

"What the hell?" Sakura shrieked, rolling out from under it. She glared at him from her position sprawled on her back and her glare only intensified as her sensei ran his eyes over her unashamedly naked body.

"What on Earth was that for?!"

"Because, Sakura..." Kakashi crouched beside her, the spider still dangling. "You always go for the easy option first. Usually a good idea, however if you now check under there again..."

Looking him in the eye for a few minutes more, Sakura conceded and rolled over onto her stomach to one again edge warily under the furniture. It was dark, and she had to use her body to feel around while her eyes adjusted. Finally she caught sight of something silver and shiny, and leaned closer.

Squinting at it, she saw that there was something attached, and was about to grab for it when her sensei's voice stopped her.

"Uh, uh. Use your mouth."

Oh. Sakura let out a huff that was clearly cause for amusement as Kakashi chuckled and trailed her nose around to try and grab a hold of it. She only hoped that she didn't encounter any more spiders; fake or otherwise. Finally she felt some kind of cord against her cheek and went for it, breath loudly as her nose was completely flatted against the floor in her bid to grab the thin object. Maybe she should go for the shiny thing at the end?

Pulling herself further under, Sakura's breaths became even louder as she struggled to crawl with her arms pressed tight against her breasts. She turned her head sideways and using her teeth and her tongue finally got a hold on the mysterious object.

She had an idea of what it was, but was too focused on grasping it to worry about how she felt about it. For the time being, her entire focus was on getting it into her mouth and then getting herself out from the cramped space that she had pushed herself into.

As she finally pulled herself out, she was met by her sensei, tugging the object from her mouth and holding it in is palm. "Did it not occur to you to crawl around to the other side rather than having to slide all the way under it?" He asked.

"Did it not occur to you to tell me earlier?" Sakura growled, crawling off again in a sulk. She went for the paper bin next, rocking back onto her heels at her sensei's demand. Legs spread, arms like a meerkat Sakura glanced into the bin to find only a newspaper inside. She also found nothing around or behind it, and hurried off to have a look at her sensei's bookcase.

She nosed at a couple, and her hunch was confirmed when Kakashi spoke up. "Careful moving them. I'd rather you didn't put teeth marks into anything."

She did so, fully aware that she was doing so painstakingly slowly and had only removed one book. He was trying to make her run out of time, she realised. He'd put things into all of the rooms and he was trying to keep her there.

Which meant that he was either putting only the nice objects there, so the terrifying couldn't be shoved right to the end, or trying to manipulate the majority of the list.

With another indignant noise, she dropped the book and clambered like a clumsy kitten across the floor to reach the bedroom. The floor was completely clear and a glance under the bed told her that he wasn't going to make it _that_ easy for her.

She nosed her way to the wardrobe, wrapping her lips around the wooden handle and turning her large green eyes up to Kakashi as she tugged. The door swung open easily and Kakashi watched her progress intently, smirking at the look of dismay on her face as she turned her attention to the contents.

Piles and piles of clothes spilled out, and Sakura used her nose, head and cheek to lift aside the offending garments. She made quick work of it, moving the items aside to grab ahold of a smooth black box. Kakashi nodded in confirmation and she grabbed it in her mouth, turning to him when only a corner of the overbalanced item was still on the wood.

He smiled and took it from her.

"Tick tock..."

A couple of draws and a trip across the hall later and Sakura was in the bathroom, looking around her for places near the ground. In the cupboard under the sink she found a riding crop, and behind the bin Kakashi's belt.

"Honestly, was this here on purpose or did you drop it and forget to pick it up?" She asked when he took the offering from her mouth.

"Both."

He grinned widely. "Five... four... three..."

Giving up, Sakura turned around and sat by his feet, her back to his legs.

"Zero. How'd you think you did?"

Sakura shrugged. "I found... four?"

Kakashi nodded, tapping the crop against his hand. "Out of..."

Sakura flushed, and went through what she could remember of her list. Surely some of it couldn't even have things hidden... "12?"

"Try 17. Of course, some of those things are just representations rather than objects."

"Representations?" Sakura asked warily.

Her feeling of dread increased as his eyes creased happily. "Movies and IOU cards."

Oh God.

"You found... let me see...

Nipple clamps, a belt, a riding crop and a mysterious black box." He nodded thoughtfully. "Those are the four that you will be allowed to slot in to my list."

"Do I get to find out what is in the box?"

He inclined his head. "If you can negotiate it."

"And how might I do that?"

"By _negotiating_."

Sakura's eyes were immediately on his, judging his sincerity. She leant forward to reach for his trousers, smirking wryly as she realised that he didn't look the slightest bit surprised. Of course not.

"No hands." His deep voice rumbled, and with a moan Sakura leant forwards to undo his fly with her mouth, tugging insistently down on the material with wide eyes pleading. After several moments the older man took pity on her and pushed the material down over his cock. Keeping her hands behind her back, she leant forward and licked him, a slow slide of her tongue over the tip. She swirled around it quickly before pulling the head into her mouth and sucking, her tongue delving out to lick lower. This continued until she had taken her sensei's cock as far as she comfortably could.

She turned her eyes up to him, sucking with determination as he moaned. Tilting her mouth up, she leaned forwards, flattening the line of her mouth to her throat and breathing through her nose to pull him further in. Her mouth filled with saliva as she sucked but she didn't dare swallow for fear of choking. She simply sealed her lips around him tightly as she licked and sucked on the large portion in her mouth. She could almost fit the entirety of him, and her hands were itching to circle his base as she threaded her fingers behind her back. With a few careful flicks of her tongue and some well placed moans Kakashi's hand lifted to grab her hair.

"Harder." He commanded throatily, and Sakura complied. She sucked furiously, rubbing him between her tongue and the roof of her mouth. She let his hand give her directions, offering no resistance as he pulled and pushed her along his now thrusting cock. He thrust in completely when he came, and Sakura waited until he had moved back again to swallow.

"Is that adequate persuasion, sir?" Sakura asked with mock politeness, as if someone in a posh store sucking up to a customer. She licked her lips slowly and Kakashi leant in to nip her ear.

"I do believe so, Madam. You may open the box."

Sakura grinned widely as she lifted the lid, hurriedly tossing it aside in favour of ferreting through the black tissue paper to feel cool bumps against her searching fingers.

"Oooh..." She cooed excitedly, wrapping her fingers around the object to pull it out. It was heavier than expected, and as the paper fell away she saw the handle emerge. She looked up to her sensei curiously, head tilted to the side.

He lifted it, flicking the stands of small metal beads with a flourish.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It is a ball chain cat, or at least that was what they called it when I bought it." Sakura's eyebrows creased slightly as she mentally ran through the things that she had seen. Cat? As in Cat o' nine tails... With metal balls making up the strands. She hadn't seen anything like it. Kakashi said that that was what 'they' called it. Maybe he hadn't seen one before he bought that one either.

"What does it do?" She asked softly.

"It cools flesh that has otherwise been heated up."

"Oh," She flushed deeply and mumbled. "From the _other stuff."_

"Yes, from the 'other stuff.' Although," Kakashi grinned. "I have been assured that this one is alright to also hit you with. See how small the beads are?"

Sakura turned her attention back to the implement in his hand. It didn't look scary. It looked more like it would feel like rain. He ran it over her shoulder lightly and the pink haired girl let out a sigh.

"Do you want to see the list?" Kakashi asked and she nodded. He turned to walk out of the bathroom, indicating that she ought to follow. He led her into the living room and sat her down on the sofa before producing several laminated pieces of paper from one of his higher up bookshelves. He sorted through them and dropped four on her lap, depositing the remaining ones onto the table. Sakura watched intently as he pushed them into some semblance of an order.

"Place your four wherever your wish." He said once he had finished. Her eyes trailed the list for a while before she did. She placed the nipple clamps and the ball chain cat at the top of the list, below 'blindfold' and 'vibrator' but before 'menage' while trying to control her embarrassed and slightly afraid reaction to the latter word. She wasn't even certain how he would do that one. If only it had been placed lower down...

That was followed by 'gag' and 'lubricant', two words that she was happy to leave as they were. The bottom of the list seemed to hold a few more things that she was slightly afraid of, as well as those that she had already tried and so she placed her other two words in between, relaxing happily once they were set down.

When she turned to face Kakashi she found that he had vacated his seat, and she could hear him moving about in another room. Patiently, she waited. He was holding several other things when he returned, and Sakura assumed that they were the objects that she had failed to collect.

He tipped the pile onto the seat beside her and nodded to the list. "Are you finished?"

"Yup."

He gathered several of the items, including the box and nodded towards the door. "Into the bedroom." He said and Sakura grinned and fell back onto her hands and knees, crawling slowly out of the room as Kakashi's foot gently nudged her along. She moved into his room and paused, waiting nervously.

"Get on the bed."Kakashi casually demanded, giving her a wink and a playful swat on the bum. "Hands and knees."

Sakura grinned and scampered to do so, wiggling her bottom deliberately as she positioned herself.

"Like this?" She called behind her. Kakashi's hand trailed down over her back, his fingers stroking down to trail over her anus.

"Yes. Exactly like that. Remember Sakura, I have picked the first few items off off the list. Would you like to be blindfolded now or later?"

Her mouth feeling full of cotton, Sakura attempted to swallow and tried to clear her mind in search of an answer.

"Well?"

Before she could truly think about it she replied. "Later."

Kakashi nodded but didn't question her. She turned her head round to face ahead of herself and closed her eyes as Kakashi's hand continued to probe between her cheeks before withdrawing again only to make contact on the right side with a resounding 'smack!' Sakura forced herself to calm. She had barely felt is before she heard the sound. He placed a couple more before baring her warmed flesh to the slightly cool air as he moved away.

She didn't turn, despite the lack of a blindfold. She only listened to his body rustling against the sheets, and the sound of plastic opening, or compressing. The sound of the unknown object being placed on the floor. Sakura listened, but she didn't bother puzzling it out.

She felt a jolt run through her as the hand returned, pressing a cool liquid against her puckered hole but she didn't move until she felt his finger penetrate her.

"Easy," He murmured, and she stilled a little to put more control in her movements as she helped him to impale her. He pumped his finger only a couple of times before swirling, stretching her and adding another finger. She could hear her own heavy breathing as he prepared her and swallowed deeply only to open her mouth again afterward to resume the soundtrack. Her eyes opened to stare at the colour of his walls vacantly, fuzzily, before shutting once more.

He took a little longer with now and Sakura felt herself succumbing to the rhythm, lulled into a calm state. She waited patiently when he removed his fingers and sighed happily as he replaced his fingers with cool plastic. She mewled when he parted her legs further and allowed it to vibrate.

His hands left her, trailing along her sides and lightening in touch until she couldn't feel him at all. A cool sensation reached her nipples a few moments later but it wasn't his hands, of that she was certain. She opened her eyes to watch as he tightened the strange contraption. It niggled at her, pinching in a way that both provided contact but didn't. Kakashi tugged lightly at the cord attached and Sakura's agitation increased, her body thrumming from the vibrator.

"You alright?" He asked softly, and she nodded.

"Can I have the blindfold now?" She asked.

"Of course," He replied smoothly and immediately his warmth left her. A soft material was placed over her eyes and tied securely around her eyes. Kakashi ran his finger underneath it at the back.

"Comfortable?"

"Yes." She left out the part of her nerves and anticipation. And her irritation at being asked such a question while she became more and more aroused by the weight on her nipples. He tugged once more and she whimpered. His hand stayed still on the cord as he entered her, pressing the vibrator into her as she took his cock. Once inside of her he stilled, smoothly palming her backside as if stroking a pet. Then, suddenly, he jerked his hips and tugged on the cord in sync.

"Kashi..." She whimpered and he twitched with a growl, losing his smooth rhythm and thrusting hard. She could feel the vibrator massaging her from it's secure spot, sending thrills of pleasure through them both. Sakura could feel it intensify as she tightened around him, the feel of her sensei and the sounds they were making a thrilling backdrop to the blankness of her vision. In the complete darkness not a single motion could be completely definite and with each thrust that fell away from his well-built motion she grew more aroused, writhing against him uncontrollably. She built higher, her cries gaining in volume, completely uninhibited. Wrapped purely in the sensations that Kakashi was creating she came with a loud shout as he deftly removed the clamps and thrust hard.

Overcome by the tightening of her hot, tight channel and the vibrations that were being sent through him, he succumbed to it. They lay together as Sakura fell onto her stomach, an exhausted mass of shaking limbs, the vibrator still going between them and sending the occasional shock through their still joined flesh. Sluggishly, Kakashi removed it and the pink haired woman drifted off into sleep, hindered only slightly by the metal balls that her partner was running over her flesh.

A few moments later, he joined her.

**A/N - I know, I know! Not even a plotful chapter! I have to say, I've been writing a fair amount of smut as of late. I am currently working on a Sakura X Kushina request. As for this chapter... if you hated it, then silly you for getting to the end :P**

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - Possibly the shortest chapter of this yet! I'll try to make up for it next chapter, honest, but this part of the fic seems likely to be big on short chapters, lots of them, and fairly quick updates. Not all bad, eh? Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you guys rock!**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**

The next few weeks were a blur of hospital shifts, kunoichi meetings and training, with glimpses of Koji and fights with Kakashi interspersed in between. She saw him out the with the brunette several more times, but the sharp sting lessened to a constant dull ache that wouldn't leave but could sometimes be forgotten in the presence of her brown haired civilian friend. He was nice to be around, as she had quickly realised, and part of her longed for more whenever her would touch her. He was mainly platonic in his touches, only a hand on her arm or leg while emphasising a point or the gently caress of him pushing her hair out of her face. Nothing he did could be construed as inappropriate, and as time went on Sakura found herself wanting him to. She was driven towards him as herself and Kakashi grew further apart. By the time that she neared the end of her training, they hardly fought at all, and the thud that hit her at the mention of _her_ only fell down to join the rest of it. She didn't react.

It had to choose _then_ to rear its ugly head again, Sakura thought as she hurried over to her sensei's. Her stomach was rolling uncontrollably with the impending loss as she made her way over to collect her final assignment. What would her task be? She hoped dearly that it would be nothing more than her sensei, a final session to test her skills and for them to say goodbye. She needed that final closure.

She didn't knock when she reached his door. She hadn't for the last few weeks, and he didn't appear to mind. They had their boundaries set, perhaps the same boundaries that would rule them for the rest of their lives. The pink haired woman didn't want them to narrow. She wanted to know that she was always welcomed by her sensei. As things were, he would help her through anything.

He was standing leant against the sofa when she entered, his eyes on the floor.

"Morning," He murmured, and he lifted his face to smile calmly at her, his mask around his neck to keep his face bare. Sakura's eyes fixed on it, an article of clothing that was usually absent from their encounters.

"Are we going somewhere?"

He inclined his head, the happy grin still in place. "We have a mission... you have officially passed my training. This mission will give you jonin rank." He fixed his eyes on her, both of them and his smiled widened. "I am very proud of you, Sakura."

She nodded dumbly and swallowed. "What is the mission, sensei?"

"Reconaissance. There are several crime rings circulating. They have been building up for several years, but they have never been a threat to Konoha, so we have to acted. Other villages have not asked us to, and so we have not become involved. It is apparent that they have spies in Konoha, so that is our main goal. That would of course, not be very subtle, so you are going to interrogate them in a _friendlier_ manner while asking indirectly. If they spill information on the spies of their own accord... then that's their loss. We'll be heading West...so pack for windy weather. We will be there a few days."

"Y-yes, sensei."

"Sakura," He murmured, a pulled her into a tight hug. "I really am proud of you."

She giggled softly. "Thank you, sensei. I'm proud of you, too."

He kissed her her gently and nudged her towards the door. "Meet me at training ground three. We'll leave around four. Don't be late."

Her mind in a whirl, Sakura left.

She spent the next two hours cleaning up for when her parents got home (as they surely would soon; Tsunade had drunkenly told her so) having quickly pulled her pack together in a matter of minutes. She always had the essentials packed, and only added a few garments and some make-up that could be useful to her. She had frowned when she looked at her pile and then her already full pack, but somehow it all fit. Now she knew how Ino managed.

Koji interrupted at around half one, sheepishly knocking on her front door and politely waiting to be invited in.

"Hey," She greeted, and stood aside for him to enter. He did so, lingering in front of the living room as he waited for her to shut the door and tell him where to go. "Go into the kitchen."

He did so, nodding and leaning against the neatly polished table. He nodded to the pack sat on the floor beside it. "You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I mean, I only found out this morning." She told him slowly, frowning a little at his expression. "I was gonna come tell you on my way to meet my teammate. It should only take a few days hopefully." She finished quickly, and he smiled.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure yet." She shrugged. "Kakashi's gonna give me the details later. It's somewhere in wind country."

He smiled. "So don't forget to bring lots of layers."

She smiled back. "I've got it sorted."

He smirked shyly. "Can I ask what you're going to do?"

She sighed at his curious tone. "No, I'm sorry. Besides, I don't even know what we're doing yet anyway. I don't even know what rank the mission is, only that it will be the final mission to bring my rank up to Jonin."

Koji didn't know much about the happenings of ninja but he, like many other civilians, did have a grasp of the ninja ranks and he grinned broadly, sweeping her into a hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," She murmured. She couldn't help but compare this hug with Koji to the one that she had shared with Kakashi that morning. "I've got to be successful first though, so no point celebrating just yet."

"Still... we could go for a drink when you get back?" He asked hopefully. "Either a celebratory or commiserationary drink?"

She nodded weakly. "Sure, Koji."

"Great! Can I walk you to your mission later, for luck?"

_How would that give me luck? _"No, Koji." She sang, smiling despite herself. "But I'll be going past the restaurant if you want me to leave you there."

"My big strong ninja, walking me home!" He murmured in a fake-girly voice, dodging the arm that she swung out quite well for a civilian. Of course, she wasn't really attempting to hit him. "You got anything left to do before hand?"

"Nope. Wanna play Scrabble?"

He looked slightly shocked and Sakura tried to force herself to believe that it was sweet. "Ninja's play civilian games?"

"Well... yeah." She forced herself not to roll her eyes. "We aren't born as adults."

He scratched his head slightly sheepishly, in a manner akin to Naruto and it didn't help his case at all. "Hahaa, right."

Sighing at his reddened face she tugged the board off its shelf among the cookery books.

She then proceeded to thrash him at it.

They walked in silence on the way to the training ground, but exchanged an easy goodbye outside of the restaurant. A smile, a hug and a promise to meet once she returned. This time however, he also gave her a peck on the cheek. He gave her the sweetest smile she'd ever seen as he turned to walk through the open door, and Sakura felt her insides melt a little. Already he had clawed his way back from the irritating place that he had put himself in that afternoon.

As such, she was rather confused when she swung herself off a tree branch to land at her sensei's feet, two minutes earlier than planned.

_This is important, huh._

"Sakura, you're early."

"So are you."

His eye crinkled happily. "I couldn't be late for my favourite kunoichi's last chunin mission, could I?"

The thing was, he definitely could have been. For the entirety of her genin career, she had sworn that he deliberately told them a time earlier than they were meant to leave, just to try their patience. Of course, she thought she knew better now. She knew that Kakashi always had a reason for everything.

"Kakashi?" She asked softly. "Why were you always late for our genin missions?"

He smiled at her. "I had a teammate who was always late for everything, and yet the mission would always go as if there was never any delay at all. You see, we left later so we ran faster to get to the camping spot. We kept the same speed the next day, and so we passed the next one early and moved on to find another. We had to learn to be prepared at a moment's notice. There was no point in settling in for the long haul, because we never knew how late he would be. It is the same here. If I had said to meet here an hour after you left, you would have been here and ready to go, wouldn't you?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I usually keep a pack handy and everything."

"Exactly." His eye crinkled again. "A ninja must always be prepared. You already have the things that you truly _need _packed. If necessary, you could leave the village at a moment's notice and help to evacuate the civilians. You could get out of a hotel room in seconds, because you don't have dolly packed in your bag. You're a good ninja, Sakura, and like all good ninja, you know how to prioritise."

Sakura flushed as she went over his words. "Thank you, sensei."

He inclined his head. "Don't thank me for what is true."

The two stood in silent reflection for a couple of seconds before Kakashi spoke again. "We need to leave in a minute Sakura. All you need to know is that we are only two nights of camping away from our destination. I will point out to you who it is that you are to question. In fact, I have pictures of them in my pack. I will brief you fully once we are there. Alright?"

"Yes, sir."

He nodded to her once more and the two began to lead, Kakashi leading. The days had begun to lengthen and they had a few hours of sunlight before it was almost too dark to travel. They set down for the night almost as the last spark dimmed.

"You set up the tent, I'll start a fire." Kakashi's voice was gruff, and Sakura was confused as she set herself to the task that she had been given. He was gone longer than ordinary, and if it weren't for his familiar chakra signature, Sakura would have begun to worry. As it was she worked without light, making quick work of the tent and scurrying inside to unroll the sleeping bags as she waited for him to return. She was pointlessly smoothing to material when she heard him return, the crunching of sticks as he piled them to light. She heard the fire begin to crackle, but stayed in the tent a few moments longer. Her shoulders were hunched over a little, and her eyes unblinking on the perfectly smooth bedroll when Kakashi came to kneel beside her.

"You alright?"

She hid the little start that ran through her, and turned with a wide, mostly genuine smile on her face. "I'm fine." She told him. "I'm just a little tired."

_And it is making me anxious._

He shrugged. "We don't really have to leave too early tomorrow to stay on schedule. We can either eat quickly and go straight to bed, or we could talk for a bit first." His voice trailed off unsurely.

For some reason, she was curious. She wanted to talk too. She wanted to know if she had done anything wrong. "Well... so long as we don't have to leave _too _early."

He nodded. "I've got the fire started. You brought bento?"

She nodded with a grin. "The large sized tub that I only ever use if I'm with you or Naruto." She giggled lightly, and moved through the flap in the tent that Kakashi held up for her. She sat down beside the fire and pulled it out of her pack. "You remembered yours, right?" Her tone was teasing, and his slightly triumphant when he responded.

"Absolutely." He waved the pack under her nose, allowing her to see a well cooked homemade bento, fixed into the shapes of shuriken and hearts, and her jaw fell open.

"There is no way that you made that yourself!"

"Right you are." His eye crinkled happily. "Kasumi made it."

Her eyes fell once again to the shuriken and hearts. _Oh, deadly appropriate._ "Things still going strongly for you two then?" She snarked, attempting to keep her voice pleasant as the words slipped out.

He looked at her strangely for a moment before nodding. "Yes, things are going well. Thanks." They were quiet a moment, Kakashi smiling down at him bento and Sakura quietly fuming. She waited a few minutes longer before faking a yawn, stretching her arms wide and dropping her chopsticks into their box.

"I think I'd better hit the sack. " She mumbled hurriedly and dropped the disposable container to her feet. "Night."

She'd gotten into the tent by the time that she heard him follow and continued as if she hadn't heard him at all. While she could hear him pushing the material of the tent aside and entering, she pulled her shirt over her head, knowing that despite the wind she wouldn't yet be able to sleep fully clothed.

And with someone who had already seen her naked already, what did it really matter?

All was silent behind her as she removed her shoes, socks and trousers, too. She was left in only her undergarments, and didn't look once at her companion as she shimmied her way into her sleeping bag. She closed her eyes as she listened to him do exactly the same, and her mind began to run wild. He'd never mentioned her name before. Kasumi. She twisted her sleeping bag in her fingers, and rubbed her feet together restlessly as she pondered it. Did it mean anything that he was saying anything now? Maybe it was just that he trusted her now to not throw a tantrum at the mere mention of her. Maybe he thought that it no longer upset her. But if that was the case, then he would've been enlightened by the way that she had immediately changed her mind and opted for an early night.

Maybe he still had no grasp, really, of how much it bothered her.

She rolled over again, onto her back. She usually slept on her left side, but the would involve turning around and facing Kakashi. She kicked her feet again.

Finally his voice broke the silence. "Sakura, is everything alright?"

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

She could almost _feel_ his shrug. "You don't seem to be getting to sleep very easily." _Because I'm trying to ignore you._

"I don't know. I just feel slightly restless, y'know? I'm a little _too_ tired a think. I ought to try and get as much sleep as possible, lest I be like this tomorrow."

Feeling smug, she turned onto her right side again and effectively put an end to the conversation. "Night."

"Goodnight Sakura."

After what seemed like far too long, his breathing evened and Sakura turned over, vaguely making out his outline in the dark. She eventually drifted off into the fitful sleep.

For the first time in months, they were sleeping together but not. And for Sakura, it was awkward.

**A/N Had to give Kasumi a Japanese name :P Someone mentioned earlier that I used an English name for Claire, and that it was slightly off putting, so hopefully this is a little more... authentic XD Thanks for reading!**

**R&R**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N - Yeah... I'm getting back with the quick updates and it's a Valentines update to boot! Not too slushy though... maybe some more smut will be around from the Cookie-Monster front in the not too distant future :D Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter... we're at over 180 reviews! You guys rock! We are also now at the 50 000 word mark! **

**Chapter 15**

It was only a few hours before Sakura awoke, hours earlier than her companion. They were miles away from anywhere and they had set up multiple jutsus to warn them of intruders, and so for the first time on a mission, unless he was unconscious due to injuries, Sakura was able to watch her sensei sleep. Only an outline of course, and she had to focus intensely for the details but that didn't matter. His mask was down, and after months in his bed she already knew what lay beneath. She didn't need to squint to see because she already knew how to picture it.

Her eyes slid slowly down, over the thin undershirt that he wore to the dark shadows where the blankets were pulled up over him and the bare arm that was poking out. She pulled her own blanket tighter, cold.

The distance between the two of them felt weird now that she was partially awake. Her emotions were cloudy and she felt akin to a small child on the verge of throwing a tantrum. There was no reason for it, after all. Bitch-face probably hadn't known about her before and yet Kakashi had slept with her. She bit her lip and looked him over longingly. If she was right, he'd been teaching her, or at least known that he was going to, before he started seeing that woman. So that meant he didn't mind seeing someone while lying to them and sleeping with her.

And it wasn't like she was going to try anything.

Her heart thudding its way out of her chest, Sakura nervously crawled out of her sleeping bag and, stifling a gasp from the sudden rush of cold, slid into her sensei's. Her eyes remained on his face for several moments as he let out a small mumble. She felt his arms come around her but he didn't wake. She nuzzled his shoulder to feel him grip her tighter, and stroked her hands down his chest. Her hands froze halfway down and, her eyes wide, she pressed a kiss to his mouth and settled down to sleep.

888

She woke again an hour and a half later, when the body curled beside her startled awake.

"Hmm..." Sakura moaned lightly as she blinked away the sleep, and felt a warm, calloused hand cover her mouth as she opened it to speak. Kakashi was holding a finger against his own lips, gesturing for her to be silent. Sakura could only watch as his sharingan swirled. A few moments later it closed, and Kakashi pressed four fingers against her wrist in their code for her to 'stay'. Without so much as a single sound, Kakashi left. Focusing her chakra, Sakura waited, feeling his chakra signature along with five others, two of which were behind her while Kakashi and the other three were out in front. Masking her own signature felt like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted, but she did it none the less and waited, perfectly still, for some sign of what to do. She couldn't hear the scuffle; all the ninja were too good for that, but she could hear the speech.

They had stopped by the tent. She could feel their chakra and hear their voices.

Kakashi's voice.

"What do you want?" His calm voice crept through, putting her on edge as she waited for his command.

"Give us your money and we'll let you live."

"Ahahaa," Kakashi's laughter crept through to her. "You see... the thing is..."

He tugged three times on the rope at the entrance to the tent, and Sakura slid silently to the gap in the fabric, waiting until the ninja moved aside. She swung out quickly and observed unnoticed, searching for the ideal moment to enter the fray.

Kakashi's sharingan wasn't out yet, but neither did the opposition appear to be losing too much energy. A gust of wind was the only indication that one of the nin were headed her way, and she immediately moved aside. She focused chakra into her fist and waited for him to come at her again, on the ground rather than in trees.

Whoever he was, he wasn't a complete novice. He stayed in the trees, firing shuriken at her from above, clearly in his more confident territory. No matter. Adding some chakra into her feet too, to make up from her lack of speed, Sakura ran head on towards a tall tree a few metres away from the one that her opponent was currently occupying. She dodged another fistful of well-placed kunai and hid behind the tree before striking it. With a loud creek and thud it fell, but Sakura didn't sit back and watch. She ran towards the other trees, lashing out and pulling them down before the other nin could hit out at her or find purchase somewhere else.

Her chakra was depleting quickly, it was true, but she knew when to stop. She would try and take this one out on her own before conserving the rest of her chakra and returning to Kakashi. They were outnumbered, and only one had come after her. This may well mean that none of the others had known before that she was there.

They would now.

A well placed hit caused the domino effect, each tree hitting into another and the nin, finally unable to keep up, leapt to the ground, to his supposed safety and into her awaiting attack. A few well-placed strikes knocked him to the leaf covered land unconscious with only one of his kicks landing; skirting her solar plexus and leaving her a little winded. No time to stay down, however.

With one last check to make sure that he wouldn't be surfacing again too soon, Sakura headed off to help her silver haired companion. He was surrounded by the other four, and he was holding his ground. With the amount of them and their evident skill, they all appeared to be almost playing. A simply gaging of each others skills. Sakura watched a few moments, bemused, and yet not one of the people present seemed to break a sweat.

With a quick jump into the centre, Sakura pulled her fist back one final time, plunging them all into a crater before backing out to hide behind her sensei. He was the only one left stood, and he lifted his headband while the four stumbled to their feet. It swirled hypnotically.

And then there was silence. Only the four thuds of four bodies hitting the ground, and then the flapping of the tent in the wind.

"Kakashi, they weren't just bandits."

"I know."

"So why didn't you get them to tell you why they were here before knocking them out?"

"We don't have time to go back to Konoha now Sakura. We need to complete the mission first. They should be unconscious for a good few days, even if some friends happen across them. They won't be able to make another shot at us if we make quick work on the mission; we'll already be home."

"So we have a pushed schedule now, huh?" She asked softly.

"I give us two, maybe three days once we've arrived, but the longer we take, the more likely they are to regroup and make another shot at us once we make our way home."

"So as quickly as possible, right?" Sakura tried to keep her voice calm, but the look that Kakashi shot her told her that she had not succeeded.

"Sakura, we don't even know if they were specifically after us. There's nothing to worry about until they attack again. No one knows that we are here, remember?"

"Right."

Her heart thudding, Sakura turned back to the tent. "Shall we pack up and get going? You might wanna use whatever jutsu you had before on the one over there." She gestured vaguely in the direction where she and the bald man had fought.

He nodded, and went to do so, returning before she had even gotten the tent folded. They made quick, silent work of the camp, and were able to leave some things (like the fire) exactly how it was because of the ninja that they had left beside it.

"They've done us a favour, really." Kakashi commented. "Covering up our tracks for us."

Still a little offput, Sakura nodded. "Right. Lead the way, Sensei."

He nodded, and they set off at a fast pace. They reached their destination for the night hours earlier than planned, but only a little out of breath and each looked to the other before continuing on in agreement. They stopped again a couple of hours before dark hit, at a slower pace and in a small town.

"Wanna stay in the hotel?" Kakashi asked, nodding towards the clean sign pointing towards the tall building. "We can get settled in and then go find something to eat."

"Sure."

He may not have said anything when they awoke, but when they entered the cozy establishment and Kakashi wandered over to the desk, he got the one key for a room with one bed.

Apparently he hadn't minded her little snuggle that much.

The bed was large, and they both immediately went for it once they had dumped their bags onto the floor beside it.

"We'll just catch out breath a moment before we go out," Sakura murmured. "I think that one place we passed said it was open all night anyway."

"Hmm..." Kakashi murmured in agreement. "We'll have to get the food to go though; the hotel requested that everyone be back here by eleven o'clock."

The clock ticked on, with neither of them moving, and neither of them said anything as ten o'clock passed and then half past.

By eleven, they were both nearly asleep anyway, laid on top of the duvet. Sakura reached out and lightly traced one finger over his form, as tentative as she had been the night before. She could feel him respond now, hear his breathing that wasn't yet quite even.

"Kakashi." She mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to brief me on the mission now?"

His eye flickered open and he pierced her with it. "Can't this wait until the morning? I thought you were tired."

"I am. But I want to know what I'm going to have to do. Will I have to sleep with anyone? Or just talk to them?"

His chest rose quickly and he gulped in a breath. "You will have to do what is necessary to get the information out of them. If need be, you could have to initiate something more, but you shouldn't have to sleep with anyone. You're not that confident yet, and I-" He cleared his throat and continued. "I see no point in you doing that. It wouldn't achieve anything from a stranger that simply dangling the bait couldn't. Try and give the impression that you are going to have sex with them, or perhaps play hard to get, but if you need to take them from the room you can knock them out once you get out of sight. I will be there, remember, and if needed I can intervene."

Sakura nodded dumbly, her eyes on his chest, and he tilted his head to look at her. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah." She sighed quietly. Then, before she could back out, she stroked her hands down his chest suggestively. "Do you think that you could get me into character?"

A rumble of laughter greeted her, and Kakashi nodded affirmatively. "Ok. But only because you haven't officially passed yet."

"So, sensei..." Sakura bit her lip and turned her large green eyes up to look at him. "You still have something to teach me?"

He laughed quietly again, and groped her chest before his tone became serious. "No. You know all that I have to teach you." He pressed a gently kiss to her forehead. "You are a remarkable kunoichi, Sakura."

"That's good," Sakura mumbled, and pressed herself tighter against him. "Because you're not too bad a sensei either."

He chuckled, and smirked as he asked; "Are you telling me that I am _not too bad _in bed?"

Sakura grinned. "Not _too_ bad."

Kakashi mock growled as she playfully pulled her suffocatingly tight for a second and tickled her sides before letting her go. She smiled sweetly at his 'angry'expression.

"Want to prove me wrong?" She asked softly. He kissed her in response, and by the time that they woke up the next morning they had lost all the time that they had gained and their stomachs were rumbling to boot.

Kakashi smiled at the sound as Sakura blushed, turning away from his pack with a towel still over his naked shoulders from his shower.

"Want me to grab something to eat while you shower?" He asked.

Flushing deeper at the sounds of her stomach, Sakura grabbed some fresh underwear from her pack and mumbled her reply. "Yes, please."

He tugged his shirt on, flicking out the towel that he had been using to swat her on the arse. "Back soon."

"Have fun."

The door to their room shut just before Sakura shut herself in the bathroom, twisting the flimsy lock that would never keep away any ninja worth their salt. She shed her clothes without fanfare, only glancing at her appearance in the mirror as she passed it. Straight into the shower she went, washing her hair and shaving her legs in preparation for her task ahead. She would change her appearance, sure, but the preparation for it would help her to get into character. Not that Kakashi hadn't done that already...

_She felt powerful and sexy as she sank down roughly on her sensei's cock, mewling and grinding against him with pleasure at the feel of him inside her, jerking uncontrollably into her wetness as she held his hands to the headboard, denying him control. Raising herself onto her knees, she allowed herself to quickly drop down again, whimpering._

_"Fuck," He hissed. "You are so fucking sexy."_

Sakura gasped, her vision clearing to find herself in the bathroom rather than in Kakashi's arms, with one hand on her breast and the other supporting her against the wall. It took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself, and then Sakura ran another dollop of shower gel over her body, checked her underarms for any hair that had escaped her razor and got out, opening the shower door to see the mirror steamed up.

She was overly warm as she dressed, and tired in a way that meant the hot water in that hotel must be endless.

Sighing happily as she dried herself, Sakura decided that she wouldn't mind staying there again.

"Sakura..." Kakashi's voice broke into her relaxed state and he banged on the door a couple of times. "I got food."

"Hmmm..." She moaned a little in the back of her throat, the exhaustion from the heat reminding her of how hungry she was. She felt a little faint. She walked slowly towards the door, not feeling up to moving quickly, and chucked the wet towel onto the sink with the decision that she would move it later.

Sometimes food is just more important.

"You are a lifesaver." Sakura sighed as she barged past him, swaying her way over to lie on the bed.

"I thought you were hungry." Kakashi teased. "What do you feel like? I got fruit, croissants, yogurt and some to-go paninis." He sounded particularly happy about the last item on his list and Sakura couldn't help but smile.

"Woo, warm breakfast."

"I got full out breakfast ones. That sound good?"

"Hell yes." Sakura took the warm package from him and let out a sound that made Kakashi's head jerk up to face her when she took her first bite. She finished in a matter of seconds and licked her fingers once she was done.

"That was utterly foodgasmic."

"Your enjoyment was evident without the proclamation." Kakashi told her dryly. "However I would rather that you save those sounds for bed. _Foodgasmic._" He mimicked with a grin, his eye crinkling up with his humour as he scoffed at her. He laughed. "Where did you get that phrase from, anyway?"

Sakura blushed. "One of _your_ sordid books."

"A sordid book that you enjoyed reading?"

Stomping her foot against the mattress, Sakura glared at him. "Look here, just because I enjoyed reading your pathetic book, doesn't mean that-"

"Shall I brief you on today's mission?" Kakashi asked pleasantly, and Sakura ground her teeth together, fists clenched.

"Go ahead."

Kakashi was still smirking as he pulled several documents out of seemingly thin air, and Sakura fought the urge to smack him one like she would Naruto.

_He does, after all, have some benefits that Naruto doesn't._ With this thought in mind, she forced a smile to her lips. Kakashi slid a photo over to her of a dark haired man with equally dark eyes and a young look that was betrayed by the lines of his face. He looked like someone young who had aged quickly.

"My target?" She asked.

"One of. There are more people to investigate than that, remember. But yes, this is hopefully who you will ensnare. If he isn't biting, then you can grudgingly accept the advances of one of these men," Kakashi spread out several more images. "Or, if worst comes to worst, simply see what you can come across by digging around with anyone. After all, the men are supposedly based here, and you can never be completely certain that a random stranger hasn't heard something that could be useful to you."

"What am I trying to find out?"

"Anything you can about these men. We don't currently have much to go on, especially since the Elders decided to only give us as much information as they deem necessary. We are the info _gatherers _remember, we are supposed to be getting the information."

"So there might not actually be anything to find?"

Kakashi inclined his head. "If that were the case, then it would be a good thing. If they haven't done anything wrong, then they are unlikely to suspect you, or try to injure us in any way. But for now I would say that it is best to be on your guard."

Sakura nodded slowly. "Do we have any idea of these guys'... preferences?"

Kakashi's eyes flickered over her face, easily reading her. "No, but it doesn't matter. We'll just have to have you look different enough that you won't be recognised. Your behaviour will be what attracts them."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I have complete faith in you, Sakura."

"Ok." She said quietly.

"Hey," She looked up from the bed to see Kakashi grinning and winking at her. "I like the dark wig you happen to have in your pack." His tone was playful, but Sakura's heart sank.

"Because it's like Kasumi's?" She muttered pettily, a high pitch to her voice that told of her mocking. Kakashi stared at her a moment, before slowly opening his mouth to formulate a response.

"Because I like it." He told her slowly, and nodded towards the clock. "We have a few hours before we ought to get going. Do you have anything that you need to do first?"

"Does she know that you are teaching me?"

"No." Kakashi said curtly. "Those lessons are a mission, Sakura. We do not discuss them with anyone outside of the people in your class and their teachers."

"But she is a kunoichi." Sakura protested. "She must have had that training too."

"It is irrelevent. I have no need to discuss you with her. Nor her you, for that matter."

"That's so dishonest, sensei!" Sakura hissed, and Kakashi glared back, affronted.

"Surely it's the right thing?" He countered. "If you were seeing anyone, you wouldn't be able to tell him about me, our lessons, or even where we are going on missions. Surely you don't want me to have double standards?" He shook his head and looked away, his shoulders relaxing as he appeared to calm.

"Why don't you go get ready and we'll finish this discussion afterwards?"

Her body felt like lead as she gave an almost perceptible nod, her eyes wide and glassy. "Fine."

Kakashi was still sat in the same space when she left the bathroom again, in exactly the same position and with his eyes focused on the place where she had been sat. He looked up at the sound of her heels walking across the floor and gazed at her a moment before patting the space beside him. Ignoring the question, Sakura walked herself over to the mirror to begin fixing the wig onto herself. It seemed more significant somehow, using a physical disguise rather than a henge. As if, by watching his reflection while she fixed it to herself, she could tell him everything that she didn't want to orally relate.

He watched her, moving over to her and tugging her arm down gently. "You don't need to put that on yet." He told her. "We still have a while before we need to leave."

"You told me to get ready, remember?"

He sighed, and gently trailed his hand along the arm that he still had in his grip, stopping once he reached her shoulder to massage the back of her neck. "I needed to stop us from arguing. A ninja who lets his feelings get in the way on a mission-"

"Is a ninja who is committing himself and his teammates to failure." Sakura finished, and rolled her eyes. "But I know that you don't completely agree with that."

"Not always," He conceded. "But I need to be able to watch you this evening without getting distracted, angry or jealous. And you'll be off your game if you are furious with me when we get there."

"So you're now on a calm-Sakura-down mission?" She muttered, but her heart wasn't really in it. She could feel her tense body melting against his caressing hands, and she leant towards him to rest her head against his chest. "Good job..."

Kakashi brought his other hand up too, running the both along her back and sides for a while longer before pulling away. "You're going to do absolutely fine." He told her. "You ready to go?"

With a deep breath and a look at the clock, Sakura nodded and quickly attached the wig. "Yes."

**A/N - Thanks for reading, R&R!**

**Kashi-Cookie-Monster**

**xxx**


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